In the Reuters/Ipsos 5-day tracking poll that samples 534 Republicans, over the last week, Donald Trump has surged to a massive national lead in the GOP presidential primary. Currently, the billionaire businessman sits at 42% with likely Republican primary voters. His closest competitor is Ben Carson, who sits at just below 25%.

Last week both men were pretty much tied up at around 25%. That is a 17 point surge for Trump.

Among all Republicans, Trumps enjoys a 34% to 20% lead over Carson.

Reuters adds that this “is also bad news for Marco Rubio, who is widely considered to be emerging as the establishment-backed alternative to Trump.”

Rubio remains stuck at 10%.

In the Real Clear Politics poll of polls, Trump’s lead is less than 1%. The most recent poll listed, however, is 10 days old. Reuters suggests that Trump’s “Saturday Night Live” appearance last week, combined with Tuesday’s debate, have contributed to his surge.

The Huffington Post poll of polls has Trump leading by 8 points.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC