Florida Senator Marco Rubio remains the top pick among evangelical leaders for the 2016 presidential campaign for the eighth month in a row, according to a survey by WORLD Magazine.
WORLD has been conducting monthly surveys beginning July 2015, collecting answers from 103 evangelical leaders and influencers to determine their political leanings.
In the polling for the month of February, the magazine found that Rubio has the support of approximately half of the evangelical leaders who participated in the survey.
When asked, “If the presidential election were today, which declared candidate do you prefer?” 48.8 percent of respondents named Rubio. He was also deemed “second choice” by 26.7 percent of respondents.
In second, Ted Cruz has garnered 26.7 percent of the vote as top preferred candidate after Rubio and came in as voters’ “second choice” at 25.6 percent.
Participants were also asked of the “top three issues you will consider when selecting a candidate.”
Religious freedom (domestic), Supreme Court nominations, and abortion were among the top three at 67.4 percent, 52.3 percent, and 48.8% respectively.
61.1 percent believed that women should not be drafted into combat positions, according to the poll.
Trump has been shown to be in the lead in various national polls. However, among WORLD’s respondents, Trump consistently ranks low.
