Column: Trump running in 2024 is a dream come true for Democrats. He’s the weakest candidate out there. https://t.co/Kr0C5yCYJL — Robert Reich (@RBReich) December 31, 2017
Trump may already have won the primaries. But as his popularity with voters grows, Democratic candidates are scrambling to find a candidate that can take him down.
Even without a credible nominee, Trump has a clear path to the presidency with the support of Republican voters. If he wins two or three more of the remaining Republican contests—Michigan and Wisconsin—his path to the White House is as good as dead.
And the Republican candidates that Trump is polling at or above his 2016 numbers may not be the best choices for the party.
Donald Trump is winning the GOP primaries again, but the path to the party nomination is not as clear for some GOP candidates https://t.co/vQ8nj2S9i8 — The New York Times (@nytimes) December 27, 2017
While Trump’s numbers are improving in several key states, others are not.
While Trump is winning in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, his poll numbers are on par with Mitt Romney. And even in the state that Romney lost by a landslide, he is still polling below his 2012 level.
Trump is winning in Florida, but Rubio is winning
Trump’s numbers in Florida have actually doubled since the beginning of 2017—from 4 percent to 8 percent. This is an improvement, but Rubio is still winning by double digits in the state—he’s up 31 percent to 38 percent.
Trump is winning primaries in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, but Rubio is doing much better
As it stands, Trump is winning at least seven of the remaining primaries in the general election, and Rubio is winning three: Nevada, Mississippi, and Missouri. Rubio is likely to win all three, but if he wins Mississippi or Missouri, he could take the race away from Trump, as Cruz was able to do in 2016.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Rubio’s three victories came in states where Trump is doing better and Rubio is doing worse. He’s also doing better in places that Trump is not winning—in Georgia, Trump does better than the competition, but Rubio is winning.
In a new Quinnipiac poll, Rubio fares better than the