Same as yesterday, up 2 points from a week ago

George W. Bush at this point: 33%
Bill Clinton at this point: 60%
Ronald Reagan at this point: 51%

Delays in approving infrastructure projects cost the nation more than twice what it would cost to fix the infrastructure, according to a new report released by Common Good, the nonpartisan government reform coalition. Those approvals can take a decade or longer, and the report shows that a six-year delay in starting construction on public projects costs the nation over $3.7 trillion, including the costs of prolonged inefficiencies. That's more than double the $1.7 trillion needed through the end of this decade to modernize America's decrepit infrastructure. Titled Two Years, Not Ten Years: Redesigning Infrastructure Approvals, the report proposes a dramatic reduction of red tape so that infrastructure can be approved in two years or less. The full report is available at www.commongood.org.

DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS
Bernie Sanders: 41%
Hillary Clinton: 40%
Joe Biden: 12%
Martin O’Malley: 3%
Jim Webb: 1%
Lincoln Chafee: Less than 1%

RON’S COMMENT: Other polls have shown Sanders narrowing the gap in Iowa, but this is the first one that has him actually leading Clinton, albeit by 1 point. The Vermont senator beats Clinton 59-29 among Iowa Democrats who identify as “very liberal” and 66-19 among 18 to 34 year olds. It should be noted that 47% of Biden’s voters say Clinton is their second choice while 44% say Sanders is. Today’s discussion question: If Biden enters the nomination race, should he skip Iowa and New Hampshire and give Sanders the opportunity to finish off Clinton?

GENERAL ELECTION
Donald Trump: 32%
Ben Carson: 19%
Jeb Bush: 9%
Ted Cruz: 7%
Scott Walker: 5%
Mike Huckabee: 5%
Rand Paul: 3%
Marco Rubio: 3%
Carly Fiorina: 3%
John Kasich: 2%
Chris Christie: 2%
Rick Santorum: 1%
Bobby Jindal: 1%
Lindsey Graham: 1%
Rick Perry: Less than 1%
Jim Gilmore: Less than 1%

RON’S COMMENT: Looks like we now have a three-tiered nationwide GOP race with Trump in the top slot, Carson occupying the second tier and everybody else in tier three. Since CNN’s mid-August poll, Trump has jumped 8 points and Carson has gone up 10 points––both impressive performances. During that same time, Bush has dropped 4, Rubio declined 5, Walker and Paul each went down 3. This poll also indicates that the momentum both Fiorina and Kasich were building several weeks ago seems to have stalled: Fiorina went from 5% to 3% and Kasich from 5% to 2%. In terms of second choice votes, Trump leads with 18% (which indicates that he still has some growth potential) followed by Carson at 16% and Bush at 10%. Also, 71% of Trump’s supporters say they support him because of positions on issues.

RON’S COMMENT: The data below tells us that 76% of GOP voters would be either satisfied or enthusiastic if Carson became their party’s presidential nominee. For Trump, it’s 67%, for Rubio 69%, for Cruz 63%, for Walker 59% and for Bush 52%. Data such as this gives Rubio hope that he may be able to ultimately emerge as a top contender; but, like everybody else, he has a long way to go. Note that 47% of GOP voters would be dissatisfied or upset should Bush win, compared to 32% for Trump, 20% for Carson and 28% for Rubio.

“I'm going to read the names of some of those candidates and ask how you would feel if each of them won the Republican presidential nomination next year.  As I read each name, please tell me whether you would feel . . . ?”

Ben Carson
Enthusiastic: 43%
Satisfied but not enthusiastic: 33%
Dissatisfied but not upset: 15%
Upset: 5%

Donald Trump
Enthusiastic: 40%
Satisfied but not enthusiastic: 27%
Dissatisfied but not upset: 13%
Upset: 19%

Marco Rubio
Enthusiastic: 21%
Satisfied but not enthusiastic: 48%
Dissatisfied but not upset: 21%
Upset: 7%

Ted Cruz
Enthusiastic: 21%
Satisfied but not enthusiastic: 42%
Dissatisfied but not upset: 22%
Upset: 10%

Scott Walker
Enthusiastic: 16%
Satisfied but not enthusiastic: 43%
Dissatisfied but not upset: 25%
Upset: 8%

Jeb Bush
Enthusiastic: 16%
Satisfied but not enthusiastic: 36%
Dissatisfied but not upset: 26%
Upset: 21%

“How important will each of the following issues be to your vote for President next year . . . ?”

% = Saying “extremely Important”

The economy: 52%
Social security and Medicare: 50%
Terrorism: 49%
Health care: 47%
Education: 47%
Gun policy: 42%
Illegal immigration: 39%
Taxes: 36%
Foreign policy: 35%
The income gap between rich and poor Americans: 33%
Abortion: 27%
Global warming: 23%

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Presidential job rating average based on the two most recently reported nationwide polls.
Historical comparisons based on nearest chronological data points from Gallup surveys.

PRES: CNN/ORC, Sep. 4–8
IA PRES: Quinnipiac, Aug. 27–Sep. 8
VOTER ENTHUSIASM: CNN/ORC, Sep. 4–8
REP ISSUES: CNN/ORC, Sep. 4–8

D = conducted by or for organizations generally associated with Democrats.
R = conducted by or for organizations generally associated with Republicans.