With Donald Trump no longer rising in the Republican presidential primary (but still in first place), GOP leaders may be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief and relax a little bit. But that probably wouldn't be a good idea. First, Trump's numbers aren't guaranteed to continue falling and indeed could go back up. But second, and more importantly, Trump's support is the symptom, not the disease: It's simply indicative of the hostile attitude the Republican base has toward its party leaders. The base is restless. They've scored a recent victory in House Speaker John Boehner's resignation, and they're ravenous for more.
We can see this in the graph above when we combine support for the three candidates who have no prior elected experience: perennial blowhard Donald Trump, failed business leader Carly Fiorina, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Trump's numbers may have waned a bit, but Fiorina and Carson appear to have picked up those erstwhile Trump backers. Support for these three candidates, collectively, has been growing steadily for the last five months or so and now extends to more than half the GOP voters.
The data points nosediving into the floor? That's all of the other candidates added together, the so-called deep, strong field of experienced senators and governors.
Join me below the fold for two more graphs that should keep Republican stomachs churning.