Donald Trump dominates in a stunning new 2016 poll

By Colin Campbell

Real-estate magnate Donald Trump continues to sit at the top of national polls in the Republican race for president - and a new poll shows him with his most commanding lead yet.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday found Trump with 24 per cent support among Republican voters.

That almost doubles his next-closest opponent, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who had 13 per cent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is in third place with 12 per cent.

Unlike a Monmouth University poll released earlier in the day, the ABC survey found that Trump's support dropped on Sunday compared to the earlier days the pollster was in the field. However, the sample size that day was relatively small.

That drop could have been a consequence of Trump's controversial claim on Saturday that Sen. John McCain (R-McCain), a former prisoner of war, was not a "war hero." The real-estate developer quickly reversed his position, however, and insists he recognized McCain as a hero. The comment has since been the subject of a media firestorm.

"How long the Trump surge lasts is an open question; this poll was conducted Thursday through Sunday, mostly before his controversial criticism Saturday of Sen. John McCain's status as a war hero," pollster Gary Langer wrote for ABC.

Langer said Trump had even more support - 28 per cent - in the first three days of surveying Republican voters.

"While the sample size of registered leaned Republicans on Sunday is quite small," Langer added, "he dropped to the single digits that day."