In recent interviews, Donald Trump has fielded a few questions about what it would take for him to give up on his presidential ambitions. It’s an odd line of inquiry — he’s still winning.
Consider, for example, the latest results from Public Policy Polling:
1. Donald Trump: 27% (down two points from late August)
2. Ben Carson: 17% (up two points)
3. Marco Rubio: 13% (up six points)
4. Jeb Bush: 10% (up one point)
5. Ted Cruz: 7% (up one point)
6. Carly Fiorina: 6% (down two points)
7. Mike Huckabee: 4% (down one point)
7. John Kasich: 4% (down two points)
Chris Christie, Rand Paul, and Rick Santorum are tied for ninth place with 2% each in the poll, while Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, and George Pataki are each at 1%.
The PPP analysis added, “Trump continues to lead with every subgroup of the GOP electorate.”
A new Quinnipiac poll, meanwhile, shows Trump leading in Florida with 28% of the Republican vote, up seven percentage points from late August. The New York developer also leads in Ohio with 23%, up two points from five weeks ago, and Trump leads in Pennsylvania with 23%, down a point from late August.
In each of three battleground states, Ben Carson is in second place. In Florida, Jeb Bush is running fourth in the state he led for eight years.
Among Democrats, PPP shows race for the nomination shaping up this way at the national level:
1. Hillary Clinton: 42% (down 13 points from late August)
2. Bernie Sanders: 24% (up four points)
3. Joe Biden: 20% (N/A)
Note, when Biden is removed from consideration, Clinton’s lead over Sanders grows to 51%-28%.
In the Quinnipiac poll, Clinton also has a 24-point lead in Florida, a 19-point lead in Ohio, and an 11-point lead in Pennsylvania.
There’s a fair amount of chatter in political circles about Trump and Clinton facing real trouble, though nearly all of the recent data appears to show them in fairly strong positions. While there’s reason to believe each of the frontrunners had greater support a few months ago, it’s nevertheless clear that any of their rivals would gladly trade places with the leading candidates.
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Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."