Among Democrats, Clinton led Sanders 55 percent to 38 percent, slightly increasing her margin over the Vermont senator from the same survey in January. | AP Photo Poll: Trump, Clinton lead big ahead of Super Tuesday

Nearly half of Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters now back Donald Trump, according to the results of the latest national CNN/ORC poll released Monday. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's lead edged closer to 20 points over Bernie Sanders.

Trump grabbed 49 percent, a full 33 points higher than Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 16 percent. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz earned 15 percent, followed by Ben Carson at 10 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 6 percent. Nearly seven in 10 — 68 percent — said they have decided on their candidate, while 32 percent said they might change their mind.


The Manhattan real-estate magnate holds wide leads over his opponents on all issues, from effectiveness at solving the United States' problems to honesty and trustworthiness. But asked whether they would support each of the Republican candidates, only 25 percent said they would "definitely" support Trump as the nominee in November, compared to 38 percent who said the same thing of Rubio and 35 percent of Cruz.

Among Democrats, Clinton led Sanders 55 percent to 38 percent, slightly increasing her margin over the Vermont senator from the same survey in January. Roughly two-thirds of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters said they have locked in their decision.

Regardless of their preference, 70 percent of both Republican and Democratic voters said they see Trump and Clinton winning the nomination of their respective parties.

The poll was conducted via landlines and cellphones from Feb. 24-27, surveying 427 Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points and 418 Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.