Donald Trump has extended his lead in the Republican presidential nomination race amid a fresh bout of controversy over his remarks about Muslims, while Hillary Clinton has consolidated her lead among Democrats, a poll showed Wednesday. Less than two months before the first state-wide votes to determine the presidential nominees, Trump was his party's undisputed leader, backed by 27 percent of registered Republican voters, while his closest challenger for months, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, has faded to third place, according to the Quinnipiac University survey.
Freshman Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has surged into second with 17 percent, while Carson is tied for third with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas at 16 percent. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush languishes in fifth place with five percent, while no other candidate is above three percent. Quinnipiac conducted its poll last week. Its Republican figures have a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points; the error margin for the Democratic polling is 4.1 percentage points.
Trump has faced fierce criticism for several remarks he has made in recent weeks, including saying "thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey cheered when the World Trade Center collapsed in the 9/11 attacks of 2001, a claim that has been widely debunked. "It doesn't seem to matter what he says or who he offends, whether the facts are contested or the 'political correctness' is challenged, Donald Trump seems to be wearing Kevlar," Quinnipiac assistant poll director Tim Malloy said in a news release detailing the results.