Maybe Donald Trump’s admiration for New England Patriots star Tom Brady is paying off.
Nearly half of the likely GOP presidential primary voters in Massachusetts want Trump as their presidential nominee in 2016, a new poll says.
Trump leads his closest competition in the Bay State by 34 points, according to the latest Emerson College Polling Society survey.
{mosads}The poll, released on Wednesday, found that 47.8 percent support Trump becoming the Republican presidential nominee next year.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson ranks second with 13.9 percent, while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) earns 11.8 percent.
No other GOP White House hopeful receives double-digit voter support in Massachusetts.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush places fourth with 6.5 percent. He is trailed by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina at 6.5 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at 5.1 percent.
Govs. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Chris Christie (R-N.J.) then take 2.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, making them the last Republican contenders above 1 percent in Massachusetts.
Wednesday’s poll also found that 43.1 percent of GOP voters surveyed plan on voting in their state’s presidential primary in March.
The Emerson College Polling Society conducted its latest sampling of 271 likely Republican primary voters from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18. It has a 5.9 percent margin of error.
Trump has repeatedly touted his admiration for Brady.
Brady even displayed a cap bearing the billionaire’s “Make America Great Again” slogan in his locker during a home game in Foxborough, Mass.
Trump’s lead over Carson is much closer nationally, only 5 points separating the two contenders for next year’s GOP presidential coronation.
He edges out Carson with 26.2 percent to the retired neurosurgeon’s 21.2 percent, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of samplings.
Massachusetts is a solidly Democratic state, but its voters will go to the polls on March 1 as part of Super Tuesday.