The Ben Carson surge is real, and Donald Trump surely does not find it spectacular.
According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, Carson is nipping at Trump’s heels, with the latter leading by only four points (27-23) ahead of the second GOP debate.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2571566
The poll is the latest in a string putting Carson, who is number two in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, right at the top of the GOP field since the Fox News debate on August 6. According to national polls included in the RealClearPolitics average, Carson has risen from 12 percent to better than 20 percent in less than a month. The average puts the famed neurosurgeon at 17.8 percent, while Trump continues to lead at 29.8 percent.
Just as striking as Carson’s rise is the fall of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who both dropped from double digits to back of the pack. In the previous NYT/CBS poll taken before the first GOP debate last month, Bush and Walker sat at 13 and 10 percent, respectively.
Bush, the former front-runner, currently pulls only 6 percent support, tying him with Sen. Marco Rubio and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Meanwhile, Walker has fallen all the way to 2 percent and 10th in the GOP field.
