Ben Carson Catching Up to Donald Trump in New Poll

The survey of likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina gave Trump 36 percent, double that of his nearest competitor, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Marco Rubio of Florida moved ahead of former chief executive Carly Fiorina, according to the poll from CNN/ORC. Ted Cruz in a head-to-head match to take Virginia.

Opinion polls put Trump at the front of a crowded Republican field seeking the party's nomination for the November 2016 presidential election.

Kasich was responding to a question from a voter who noted that Trump, the leading Republican candidate, "keeps shooting his mouth off, he's getting all the attention and he's doing that because of the things he's proposing".

Trump tops the GOP "no way" list as 25 percent say they would "definitely not" vote for him, followed by Bush with 22 percent who would not support him. This frightens Republican donors because if 20 percent of Republican voters skip the race, the Democratic nominee is sure to win.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has 4% support, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is at 3% and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are at 2% each.

While Republican voters in Connecticut appear to favor outsiders, Democrats prefer frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Clinton has the support of most of the state's Democratic political establishment, including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

"If you change the definition of marriage for one group, what defense do you have for the next group that comes along and wants it changed?" the Republican presidential candidate asked radio host Eric Metaxas on Thursday. However, that number was down from the 53 percent she enjoyed back in March.

Sanders gets 44 percent to Carson's 41 percent.

Another positive for Trump is that among white evangelical Protestants in South Carolina - the group that will make up two-thirds of the state's GOP primary turnout - Trump led Carson by 8 points, 32 percent to 24 percent. Bush's favorable rating has dropped 11 points. Jeb Bush gets a negative 33 - 51 percent, among the worst scores.

Trump and Clinton also have high unfavorable rankings. Clinton is viewed as honest and trustworthy by 35%, compared to 61% who say she's not.