A Fox News poll shows Sen. Ted Cruz two points ahead of Donald Trump in Iowa, adding to evidence the Texas Republican is overtaking Trump in the Hawkeye State.
Cruz garnered support from 28 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers, while Trump netted 26 percent. That’s within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent, meaning the two candidates are statistically tied.
The poll, made public Sunday, showed Sen. Marco Rubio overtaking neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who once threatened to topple Trump’s lead but has faded to less than half his previous support in the state.
Rubio had 13 percent of support and Carson had slipped to 10 percent.
Jeb Bush and Rand Paul were tied at 5 percent.
Conducted shortly after Trump’s proposal to prevent Muslims from entering the U.S. on a temporary basis, the poll showed 30 percent of Republican voters in Iowa said they would never vote for Trump, compared to only 6 percent who said they would never vote for Cruz.
Only 13 percent of Republican caucus-goers said they were “satisfied” with the direction of the country, compared with 54 percent of Democratic caucus-goers.
The poll was one of several this week that showed Trump’s lead in Iowa disappearing as Cruz enjoys what appears to be a surge less than two months before the caucuses begin. A Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll released Saturday showed Cruz opening a 10 point lead over Trump in Iowa.
In a taped interview that aired Sunday on Fox News, Trump disputed that poll, insisting he will win the state’s important caucus.
“I’m ahead in Iowa,” Trump said.
“I don’t go down. I go up” Trump added. “My whole life has been about winning. I’m gonna win.”
