Donald Trump is the first choice of 34 percent of likely Republican primary voters. | AP Photo / AP Bloomberg poll: Trump up big in South Carolina

Donald Trump has twice the support of Ted Cruz in South Carolina, according to a Bloomberg Politics poll out Wednesday evening.

The billionaire is the first choice of 34 percent of likely Republican primary voters, followed by Texas Sen. Cruz at 16 percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with 13 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has 11 percent. Both retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich poll in the single digits, with 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively.


When the poll asked respondents for their first choice or the person they were "leaning" toward, the race for the lower positions tightened a bit. Trump had 36 percent of likely Republican primary voters, followed by Cruz at 17 percent and Rubio just a hair behind with 15 percent. Bush is also close behind with 13 percent. Carson and Kasich bring up the rear with 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

With just three days to go, the race is still fluid, however: 43 percent of those surveyed said they could still be persuaded, 56 percent said they had made up their mind and 1 percent said they were not sure.

Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday, the Bloomberg poll began asking respondents for their take on how Senate Republicans should handle President Barack Obama's likely attempt to name a replacement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made waves when he issued a statement almost immediately following Scalia’s death calling for a hold on a nomination until the next president takes office.

Just over half (54 percent) of those surveyed said they agree with McConnell, 42 percent said the Senate should proceed with hearings and vote based on merit, and 4 percent were not sure.

The telephone poll of 502 likely Republican primary voters was conducted Feb. 13-16. The margin of error for that sample is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The sample of 336 people surveyed following Scalia’s death has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.

According to the RealClearPolitics average for the state, Trump is ahead by 17.8 percentage points, with 34.6 percent. Cruz and Rubio are just a fraction of a point apart, at 16.8 percent and 16.2 percent, respectively. Bush follows with 10.4 percent, and Carson has 6.6 percent.