He's followed by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida with 19 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with 18 percent. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 6 percent with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Dr. Ben Carson at 4 percent each. Nine percent are undecided.

This compares to the results of a Feb. 5 survey by the independent, Hamden, Conn.-based Quinnipiac University poll, showing Trump with 31 percent, Cruz with 22 percent and Rubio with 19 percent.

In the Democratic race nationwide, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has 44 percent, with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 42 percent, and 11 percent undecided, unchanged from February 5.

The top three Republicans are closely matched in terms of voter opinion as Trump gets a 62 - 31 percent favorability among Republicans, with 64 - 17 percent for Rubio and 62 - 23 percent for Cruz.