Poll: Trump unscathed in NH as Christie climbs

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s support is rising in New Hampshire despite his controversial call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., according a poll out Friday

The 90.9 WBUR survey finds Trump with 27 percent support among GOP primary voters, 15 points above New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has climbed 6 percent in the last month to claim second place in New Hampshire.

Trump is up 4 points from the same poll in November, marking his best showing in the Granite State yet.

Trump’s showing follows his suggestion Monday that the U.S. temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country. He argued that the drastic measure is necessary for preventing radical Islamic terrorism on American soil.

Multiple lawmakers from both political parties have since condemned Trump’s suggestion as both impractical and unconstitutional.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) ranks third, with 11 percent, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is a close fourth, with 10 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush completes the GOP’s current top five in New Hampshire, netting 8 percent there.

Friday’s poll found that New Hampshire’s likely GOP presidential primary voters view the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as the nation’s most dangerous threat.

About 87 percent view ISIS as a significant menace, the highest of any option WBUR sampled among that demographic.

Another 11 percent think the terrorist group is at least a minor concern, leaving nearly the entire sample worried about its existence.

Pollsters additionally found that Granite State Republicans are excited about political outsiders like Trump heading into 2016. They discovered that 46 percent want a president next year from “somewhat outside” the political establishment.

90.9 WBUR conducted its latest sampling of 402 likely GOP presidential primary voters in New Hampshire via cell and landline telephone interviews Dec. 6–8. It has a 4.9 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.