Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson now leads the Republican presidential field among white evangelical GOP voters in Iowa, according to a new poll.
The latest NBC News online survey of Republicans in Iowa found that Carson, who is second in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings, has jumped to first place with 33 percent support among the voting bloc that plays a pivotal role in the state’s nominating contest.
Although Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump maintains his overall lead in the earliest voting state (28 percent), Carson’s surge among white evangelicals has knocked the billionaire to second place from where he stood just last month. Trump has dropped 2 percentage points among evangelical Iowans while Carson has gained 13 points.
According to exit polls from the 2012 Iowa Republican caucuses, 57 percent of caucus-goers in the previous election cycle were born-again or evangelical Christians and 99 percent of participants in the first-in-the-nation caucuses were white. The combined demographic wields significant power over GOP hopefuls and is essential to a candidate’s success in the Hawkeye State.
Despite gaining an edge among Christian conservatives, Carson remains in second place behind Trump with 23 percent overall support in Iowa. Combined, the two outsider candidates earn more than half of GOP voters’ support in the Midwestern state.
The poll was conducted online by Survey Monkey from Oct. 13-15 and includes responses from nearly 4,900 adults. Results contain a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
