Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are leading among the Republicans and Democrats, respectively, in South Carolina's primary, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released on Tuesday.

The poll found that Trump holds a broad 16-point lead among those likely to vote in South Carolina this Saturday, while Clinton tops Bernie Sanders by 18 points in the state's Democratic primary, which will be held a week later.

In the Republican race, Trump, at 38%, tops Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who holds second place with 22%.

Behind them are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio who garners 14% support, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is at 10%, Ben Carson with 6% and Ohio Gov. John Kasich is at 4%.

Trump's lead is bolstered by widespread perceptions of him as the candidate best able to handle the economy, immigration and the Islamic State (ISIS), and further, that he has the best chance to win in November and would be most likely to change the way things work in Washington, according to CNN.

Trump holds an even broader lead among white evangelical voters in the state, who typically make up a majority of Republican primary voters. He tops Cruz by nearly 20 points among this group: 42% Trump, 23% Cruz, 14% Rubio, 9% Bush, 5% Carson and 1% Kasich, the poll found.

Meanwhile, likely voters in the Democratic primary in North Carolina, set to be held Saturday, February 27, tilt sharply toward Clinton over Sanders, with 56% for Clinton and 38% for Sanders.

Clinton's lead rests heavily on the state's black voters and women, the poll finds. Both groups made up a majority of voters in the 2008 primary there. Among black voters, she leads 65% to 28%, and among women, she leads 60% to 33%.

White voters break in Sanders' favor, 54% for the Vermont senator to 40% for the former secretary of state, while men are about evenly divided between the two, 49% Clinton to 45% Sanders.

Trump was victorious in the recent New Hampshire primary, while Sanders prevailed over Clinton in that state.