Stuff happens: Poll lays bare Jeb Bush campaign travails

Jeb Bush appears to have paid the price in the eyes of Republican voters for a number of gaffes that included him saying in the aftermath of a college massacre that "stuff happens", AFP reports.

He may be the ultimate establishment Republican, but Bush -- brother and son to former presidents -- has seen his political ambitions stutter in the months since Donald Trump entered the race for the party nomination for the White House.

Bush's plummeting fortunes were confirmed in a CBS News poll released Sunday which said his favorable rating among Republican primary voters has dived 11 points since August.

Trump, with 27 percent, remains in the lead in the race for the Republican nomination, with Ben Carson (21 percent) in second place, according to the poll. 

Next are Ted Cruz (nine percent), Marco Rubio (eight percent). Bush was in fifth in the crowded field of 15 Republican presidential hopefuls with six percent.

He was on 13 percent just two months ago.

The Bush campaign has shown a puzzling lack of traction against brash real-estate mogul Trump as he seeks to break out from the rest of the crowded field, reinforcing American voter skepticism about him following his father's and brother's footsteps into the White House.

The former Florida governor invited opprobrium for his reaction to the October 1 college shooting that left nine people dead and for his comments in August about women's health.

Hillary Clinton, with 46 percent, continues to lead in the race for the Democratic nomination, the poll said.