
© Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
Donald TrumpHouse passes voting rights and elections reform bill DEA places agent seen outside Capitol during riot on leave Georgia Gov. Kemp says he'd 'absolutely' back Trump as 2024 nominee MORE holds a commanding lead in seven Southern states that will cast their votes on March 1, according to a Bloomberg poll released Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT
Trump has 37 percent support in the seven states, with Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio RubioDeSantis's rising GOP profile fuels 2024 talk GOP senators question Amazon on removal of book about 'transgender moment' CPAC, all-in for Trump, is not what it used to be MORE and Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzGarland's AG nomination delayed by GOP roadblocks The Hill's 12:30 Report: Washington on high alert as QAnon theory marks March 4 The Memo: Is Trump mounting a comeback — or finally fading? MORE tied with 20 percent each.


They are followed by Ben Carson with 8 percent and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) with 6 percent.
Trump also defeats the two senators in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups. When pitted against Cruz, the billionaire business mogul leads 49 to 40 percent. Rubio comes slightly closer, trailing Trump 48 to 44 percent.
Still, the poll shows that there is still some wiggle room among the voters, with 53 percent saying they are still open to voting for someone aside from their current first-choice candidate.
The survey showed slim prospects for potential third-party candidate former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Fifty-six percent say they view him unfavorably, while just 18 percent view him positively.
The poll surveyed more than 1,200 likely Republican primary voters in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. It has a margin of error of 2.8 percent.