From Jim Young, Reuters (September 29, 2015)

Billionaire Donald Trump has taken a commanding lead in the race for the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential nomination with the support of 25 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, giving him a double-digit advantage over nearest rival Jeb Bush.

The poll shows Bush, the former Florida governor, trailing at 12 percent.

It is a huge jump for Trump, who announced his candidacy for the November 2016 election six weeks ago – and this despite the criticism political rivals leveled at him for remarks this month belittling the military service of Senator John McCain, the party’s candidate in 2008.

The five-day rolling online poll had Trump at 15 percent among Republicans on Friday before he rocketed to 24.9 percent on Tuesday.

Trump, a 69-year-old real estate mogul and reality TV star, seems to be certain to take the stage at next week’s Fox News debate, which will use national polls to determine which 10 of the 17 Republican candidates in the field can participate.

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