Former President Donald Trump has such a big lead in the Republican nomination contest — and is, voters tell us, such a dominant topic of the campaign — that we can even define primary voter segments around him. That helps explore just how solid his support really is. Trump has the lion’s share of the vote and he has even more people considering him — so his lead could grow.
Most Republican primary voters planning to watch the debate are at least considering other candidates. It doesn’t mean they would prefer someone other than Trump, but they at least signal an openness to the possibility. The challenge for other candidates is that most voters want someone similar to Trump, while Trump himself is running.
So, here are the four groups, which we have named, based on our most recent polling and informed by our two previous waves of GOP polling this year. CONTINUED
Anthony Salvanto & Kabir Khanna, CBS News
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