Presidential polls update 2015: Ben Carson vs Donald Trump; Hillary Clinton wins South Carolina's support

Republican US presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson (R) laughs at an answer from businessman Donald Trump (L) at the 2016 US Republican presidential candidates debate held by CNBC in Boulder, Colorado, on Oct. 28, 2015.Reuters

Republican presidential hopefuls Ben Carson and Donald Trump are once again head to head in the competition based on the new poll released by McClatchy-Marist.

In last week's poll conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, Carson was seen with a six-point lead against Trump, but the real estate mogul has caught up with the retired surgeon's number and the difference now is down to one percent.

Carson's support is at 24 percent while Trump's is at 23%, followed by Florida Senator Marco Rubio with 12 percent and Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former governor of Florida Jeb Bush, both with eight percent, based on the poll results released last Monday.

The new poll results from McClatchy-Marist do not only mean good news for the frontrunners but also for Rubio and Cruz, who might gain better ratings when people hear more about them.

The poll also found that 67 percent of Republican voters admitted that they may like Carson more if they hear more about him while 20 percent will dislike him.

The case for Rubio is at 58–27 percent while Cruz's is at 51–31 percent. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina also had 46 percent of people's support if they hear more about her, as opposed to the 34% who will dislike her even more.

In contrast, the same thing cannot be said about Trump and Bush. The poll found that only 44 percent of people will like Trump upon hearing more of him, compared to the 49 percent who said that they will dislike him. For bush, the results found a 32–58 percent.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a campaign event in West Columbia, South Carolina, July 23, 2015.REUTERS

With the recently concluded GOP presidential debate, the numbers are expected to change.

In other presidential poll updates, Hillary Clinton's presence is strong in South Carolina, crushing her rival Bernie Sanders' numbers, based on the poll by Monmouth University.

According to the new poll results released last Tuesday, Clinton's support in that particular state is at 69 percent, while Sanders was found way behind with only 21 percent. Former governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley barely made the cut with only one percent support.