A new Associated Press poll shows that a significant majority of Americans believe that the United States accepts too many immigrants from the Middle East:

The AP-GfK survey found widespread antipathy toward immigration from the Middle East, with 54 percent of Americans saying the U.S. takes in too many people from the volatile region. Among Republicans, about three-quarters of respondents held that view, compared with about half of independents and more than a third of Democrats.

Thus, the overall losing hand in the 2016 presidential election race appears to be for candidates espousing a liberal immigration policy toward those from the Middle East.

The polling data was obtained from December 3 to 7, before Donald Trump's recent statements on Muslim immigration.

In addition, the poll suggests that half (49 percent) of all Americans – including 70 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of Democrats – indicated they "see an extremely or somewhat high risk of Syrian refugees committing acts of religious or political violence in the U.S."