A new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll, the most respected survey in Iowa politics, has Ted Cruz with a solid lead in the first-voting state. The Texas senator has 31 percent in the new survey, to Donald Trump’s 21 percent, Ben Carson’s 13 percent, Marco Rubio’s 10 percent, and Jeb Bush’s six percent.
In the last Register poll, in mid-October, Cruz was at 10 percent, meaning he has more than tripled his support in the last eight weeks.
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“From the beginning of this campaign, we’ve talked about uniting courageous conservatives to reignite the promise of America and keep our nation safe,” said Cruz Iowa State Director Bryan English in an email statement. “We have more work to do, but we can definitively say the message is working. We have the right candidate, motivated supporters and the financial strength to take us to the nomination and the White House.”
The poll suggests Trump is in a holding pattern. He had 23 percent in an August Register poll, 19 percent in October, and has 21 percent now. He appears to be bouncing around in a limited range.
The Trump campaign immediately denounced the survey. “The CNN poll in Iowa has us 33-20 over Cruz,” said campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in an email exchange. “The DMR is a biased media outlet and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Their history of polling is rated the worst.”
The poll is dramatic evidence of Carson’s rise and fall. In August, Carson was at 18 percent in the Register poll. He soared to 28 percent in October, but has now fallen to 13 percent.
Rubio has not done much in the last two months. From six percent in August, he rose to nine percent in October, and is now at 10 percent.
Jeb Bush has settled into a mid-range. Since August, he’s gone from six percent to five percent to six percent. In other words, nothing much is happening with his support.
Just 33 percent of respondents told the Register that their mind is made up; 66 percent said they still might be persuaded to support another candidate.
Cruz scored well on a number of attributes tested by the Register, most importantly who has the best temperament to be president. Cruz topped that question with 34 percent. Rubio was second at 25 percent, Carson third at 23 percent and Trump far behind at 11 percent.
On other attribute question — who has the right values to lead the nation, who has the most appropriate life experience to be president, who would work most effectively with Congress, and who could make the best commander-in-chief — Cruz led the pack.
