A new online poll of 1,165 Republicans in California shows businessman Donald Trump leading Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) 41 to 23 percent in the California primary.
The result echoes a recent YouGov/CBS poll that showed Trump leading Cruz by 18 points, 49 to 31. However, the Capitol Weekly/Sextant Strategies poll used an odd methodology: Politico reports that it worked by “collecting responses via the Internet from registered Republicans for whom email addresses are included in the California voter file.”
(Update: The poll also shows Ohio Gov. John Kasich close behind Cruz, with 21% — far higher than other polls.)
The poll, Politico reports, “shows Trump winning in almost every corner of the state, from San Diego and Orange County to northern California and the Bay Area, though some regions have small sample sizes.” There are, however, a few differences. The poll shows Trump leading Cruz in the Central Valley, 35 to 28, though Cruz has led Trump there in every other poll. It also shows Trump doing best in the Inland Empire, with 49 percent, though other polls show that as Cruz’s strongest region.
In addition, the poll shows Trump leading among newly-registered Republicans, “winning 53 percent of their support, to 21 percent for Cruz and 15 percent for Kasich,” Politico reports. However, another recent poll showed Cruz doing best among first-time voters, nearly doubling Trump’s support in that group, 62 to 36.
The California primary, to be held on June 7, will likely prove decisive for both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations for the first time in decades.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible’s Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.