Trump leads the Republican presidential race in the US.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates that billionaire Donald Trump has taken the lead in the race for the Republican Party's 2016 presidential nomination with 25 percent of voter support, a double-digit advantage over his closest rival, Jeb Bush.
By James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) Billionaire Donald Trump has taken the lead in the race for the Republican Party's 2016 U.S. presidential nomination with the support of 25 percent of voters, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed, representing a double-digit advantage over his closest rival, Jeb Bush.
The poll shows Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, with 12 percent.
It's a huge leap for Trump, who announced his candidacy for the November 2016 election six weeks ago, despite criticism from rival politicians for remarks he made this month belittling the military service of Senator John McCain, the party's nominee in 2008.
The five-day poll showed Trump with 24,9 percent on Tuesday, compared to 15 percent on Friday.
Trump, a 69-year-old real estate mogul and reality TV star, appears to have his place secured in next week's Fox News debate, which will use national polls to determine the 10 participants from among the 17 Republican presidential candidates.
In a head-to-head matchup between Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, Trump would tie with Jeb at 23 percent among likely voters, and Hillary would win the election with 37 percent of the vote.
About 15 percent of those surveyed said they were undecided or would not vote.
The poll was conducted with 425 Republicans and has a margin of error of 5,5 percentage points, plus or minus. The poll on the three-candidate race, conducted simultaneously, surveyed 1.280 Americans and has a margin of error of 3,1 percentage points.
(Reporting by James Oliphant)