Monmouth Poll: Cruz surges to the lead in Iowa

Christie doubles his support from 1% to 2%

A Monmouth University Poll released this morning puts Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the lead of the 2016 Republican Iowa Caucus with the support of 24% of Iowa voters likely to attend the February 1st caucus.

Cruz’s support appears to have come at the expense of Dr. Ben Carson, who dropped from 32% in an October Monmouth poll to 13% today.  Cruz was at only 10% in November.

Donald Trump and Florida Senator Marco Rubio are within 2 points of each other for second in today’s poll.  Trump has 19% and Rubio 17%.

Evangelical voters, who make up about half of the Iowa GOP caucus electorate, back Cruz (30%) over Trump (18%), Rubio (16%), and Carson (15%).  In October, Carson held the advantage with this group – garnering 36% support to 18% for Trump, 12% for Cruz, and 9% for Rubio.

Cruz also has an edge among voters who call themselves tea party supporters.  He commands 36% support among this group, compared to 20% for Trump, 17% for Carson, and 11% for Rubio.  In October, this group gave their vote to Carson (30%) over Trump (22%), Cruz (17%), and Rubio (8%).

There is a notable gender difference among caucusgoers’ preferences.  Men prefer Cruz (29%) and Trump (24%) over Rubio (12%) and Carson (12%).  Women support Rubio (23%) and Cruz (19%) over Carson (15%) and Trump (14%).

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Trump attacks Carson’s temper, says he’d bomb ISIS

TRENTON — Donald Trump compared the “pathological temper” that Republican presidential rival Ben Carson claims to have had in his youth to the sickness of a “child molester” during a television interview Thursday. Later in the day, Trump declared during a rally in Iowa that he would “bomb the s**t out of ISIS.” And in his… Read the rest of this entry »

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Carson passes Trump in second Iowa poll; Christie 12th

WASHINGTON — Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson led Donald Trump in a poll of likely Republican caucus goers released Friday, the second survey in two days to show the businessman and national GOP front-runner falling out of first place in the initial 2016 contest for convention delegates. The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll gave Carson 28… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie falls in Fox poll showing Carson and Trump neck and neck

WASHINGTON — Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson closed to within a virtual tie with businessman Donald Trump among likely Republican presidential primary voters in a poll out Tuesday that also showed a drop in support for Gov. Chris Christie. The Fox News survey gave Trump 24 percent and Carson 23 percent. The 1-point difference is within the… Read the rest of this entry »

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Trump widens lead in CNN poll as Christie ties for 10th

WASHINGTON — Businessman Donald Trump widened his lead over his competitors as almost one-third of Republican voters said they wanted him as their 2016 presidential nominee, according to a poll released Thursday. Trump received 32 percent in the CNN/ORC International survey, with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in second with 19 percent. The poll, covering the period… Read the rest of this entry »

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Monmouth Poll: Trump Holds National Lead, Carson 2nd

Trump tops all but Carson head-to-head

West Long Branch, NJ – Donald Trump has increased his GOP vote share since last month’s debate.  The latest Monmouth University Poll of Republican voters nationwide also finds Ben Carson moving into second place, Jeb Bush slipping to third, and Scott Walker fading into the background.  The poll also tested Trump directly against nine opponents in head-to-head match-ups and found that only Carson is able to get the better of him.

When Republicans and Republican-leaning voters are asked who they would support for the GOP nomination for president, Donald Trump leads the pack at 30%, which is up 4 points from early August before the first debate.  Ben Carson (18%) has increased his vote share by 13 points and now holds second place.  Jeb Bush (8%) has dropped by 4 points and now stands in a tie for third with Ted Cruz (8%).  Following behind are Marco Rubio (5%), Carly Fiorina (4%), and Mike Huckabee (4%).

Scott Walker (3%), who held third place in Monmouth’s August poll, has dropped 8 points since then.  Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Rand Paul each get 2%.  The remaining six candidates included in the poll score no higher than 1% each.

“None of the establishment candidates is having any success in getting an anti-Trump vote to coalesce around them.  In fact, any attempt to take on Trump directly only seems to make him stronger,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ.

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Outsiders Trump & Carson surge as incumbent Christie languishes: Iowa poll

TRENTON — A new Monmouth University Poll carries bad news for incumbents like Gov. Chris Christie, John Kasich and Scott Walker, and great news for outsiders like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina. Carson and Trump are now tied for the top spot among likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers with 23 percent of the vote, with… Read the rest of this entry »

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Black conservatives eye Ben Carson for 2016 White House run

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