Ted Cruz Edges Donald Trump in July’s Breitbart Primary

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) barely edged businessman Donald Trump in July’s Breitbart Primary as Trump surged into second place, followed by Dr. Ben Carson, who grabbed the third spot.

Cruz, who won June’s inaugural Breitbart Primary, was the first choice of 28.3% of the 70,566 participants last month. Trump was second with 27% of the vote. Trump, as he has done in every state and national poll, started to surge in July’s Breitbart Primary once he formally entered the race and focused his campaign on border security and illegal immigration. Like in other polls, Trump’s comments about illegal immigrant criminals and his offhand remark about Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) service did not appear to hurt him with Breitbart Primary voters. Carson, who finished fourth in June’s Breitbart Primary, was third with 16.6% of the vote.

Cruz, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) held the top three spots in June’s inaugural Breitbart Primary. Voting is reset each month in the Breitbart Primary, and readers are encouraged to vote in August’s Breitbart Primary here.

The results of July’s Breitbart Primary are below:

1. Ted Cruz – 28.3%
2. Donald Trump – 27%
3. Ben Carson – 16.6%
4. Scott Walker – 10.1%
5. Rand Paul – 6.5%
6. Carly Fiorina – 3.1%
7. Marco Rubio – 1.9%
8. Rick Perry – 1.5%
9. John Kasich – 1.1%
10. Bobby Jindal – 1.1%
11. Mitt Romney – .9%
12. Mike Huckabee -.6%
13. Jeb Bush – .5%
14. Rick Santorum – .4%
15. Chris Christie – .1%
16. Lindsey Graham – .1%
17. George Pataki – .05%

Unlike other GOP candidates–such as former Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who jumped at the chance to gleefully assail Donald Trump after his remarks about illegal immigrants and McCain’s service–Cruz did not condemn Trump. Cruz said Trump should not apologize for speaking out against illegal immigration and called out the mainstream media for trying to gin up Republican-on-Republican violence in the wake of Trump’s comments about McCain.

And July’s Breitbart Primary results show that Cruz was wise in not attacking Trump because his supporters overlap with Trump’s. Cruz is the overwhelming second choice of Trump’s supporters with 38.5%, followed by Walker (15%), and Carson (13.4%), meaning Cruz stands to benefit the most if Trump exits the race. Walker, though, is the top second-choice candidate of Cruz’s voters, receiving 25.7%, followed by Trump (20.7%), Carson (11.8%), and Paul (10.8%). Cruz was also the top second-choice pick in July’s Breitbart Primary with 20.3%, followed by Walker (16.2%), Trump (11.8%), Carson (10.1%), and Fiorina (8.6%). Cruz was the third choice of 10.5%, behind Walker (13.6%), Fiorina (13.4%), and Carson (11.4%).

Establishment Republican candidates like Jeb Bush and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie continued to struggle in July’s Breitbart Primary. Both candidates barely registered again, with Bush getting .5% and Christie receiving a paltry .1%. Non-politician Carly Fiorina finished in sixth place, which means that three of the top six candidates in July’s Breitbart Primary (Trump, Carson, Fiorina) are non-politicians.

Though Trump is doing well among conservatives and white male voters, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that Trump led found that Trump’s appeal is not limited to the conservative base. In fact, Trump’s anti-establishment candidacy is appealing to a broad swath of the GOP electorate, including female Republicans and even moderate Republicans, which means that Trump not only has a high floor but also, contrary to what the punditocracy had assumed, may have a higher ceiling than had previously been predicted.

Voting in August’s Breitbart Primary has started, and readers are encouraged to vote here.