Trump laps Republican field in latest 2016 poll

American billionaire Donald Trump, the dominant  Republican no one can stop talking about heading into the 2016 presidential election, is leaving his rivals far behind in the polls.
 
The provocative real estate magnate and political neophyte remains at the center of campaign firestorms, roiling the Republican establishment and leading the GOP pack as it gears up for the post-New-Year gallop to Iowa and the first voting in the nominations process on February 1.
 
Trump's campaign trail bombast -- including extraordinary comments, among them a vulgar attack on Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton that stunned many observers -- appears to have done him little if any harm in the polls as he solidifies the frontrunner status he has maintained since late July.
 
A new poll released on Dec. 23 showed him with double the support of his nearest competitor.
 
The national CNN/ORC poll of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters has Trump leading with 39 percent support -- more than twice that of Senator Ted Cruz on 18 percent, a two-point gain since the companies' last poll in November.
 
Senator Marco Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have both slipped slightly and sit at 10 percent, while New Jersey Governor Chris Christie came in fifth at five percent. None of the other eight Republican candidates is above four percent.
 
The poll, with a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points, was conducted following the latest Republican primary debate, in which Trump and Cruz were seen as performing well.
 
The latest figures put Trump at 35.1 percent support in the much followed RealClearPolitics.com polling average, his highest mark yet.
 
Cruz is at 18.1 percent in the average,...