Cruz’s breakthrough came in a Monmouth University survey released in the morning, showing him with 24 percent of the vote, a gain of 10 percentage points since October.
Advertisement
Another day, another poll that seems to suggest Donald Trump might wind up winning the Republican presidential nomination.
On Twitter, many reporters speculated that a distraction from Cruz’s poll numbers was exactly what media-savvy, poll-obsessed Trump had intended. Women support Rubio (23%) and Cruz (19%) over Carson (15%) and Trump (14%).
Monmouth also had a smaller sample size – 425 compared to 552 with the CNN poll.
Ted Cruz said Trump’s idea wasn’t “his policy”. “Among voters who were not regular GOP primary voters, however, the poll found Trump ahead, similar to the CNN/ORC poll’s finding”.
Branstad, a powerful figure in Iowa Republican politics who is not publicly backing any GOP candidate, chose to focus on the former poll.
Watch for Cruz and Rubio to be battling it out in Iowa from here on out.
Rubio and Trump also have the highest favorability ratings, with 61 percent and 56 percent, respectively, of likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire viewing them positively. “Either win or finish in the top three”, Richard Schwarm, the former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party told ABC News. “I do not think it is the right solution”, Cruz said.
Campaigning Monday in South Carolina, Cruz called the survey “very encouraging”.
Rubio is paired with Cruz in national, New Hampshire and SC positive polling trends.
Cruz’s rise can also be attributed, in part, to his recent endorsement from Iowa Rep. Steve King.
The conservative Texas senator was attending the press conference to push several pieces of legislation that would effectively keep Muslim refugees out of the country. New Jersey Gov. Christie holds third place in the single digits at 9%. “There is no doubt that Donald Trump would be a tremendously effective negotiator to help open up foreign markets”.
Cruz’s fundraising prowess has enabled his campaign to add more field staff in Iowa and the senator himself has hit the ground harder, making five trips to the Hawkeye state in the past month and a half.
While Dole said he wouldn’t go as far as voting for a Democrat for president, he said it would be “difficult” if Cruz became the nominee.
Ted Cruz has surged into the lead in a poll of likely caucus-goers released today by Monmouth University.
Advertisement
He knows – and I’m guessing he’s been reminded repeatedly during the last few days – that if his rivals back out on that pledge, so can Trump. But it is especially unpredictable in a year where both party nominations are open; when one candidate (Clinton) is a prohibitive favorite nationally, even though she’s in a tight race regionally; and when the leading candidate of the other party, Trump, is a businessman without conventional political experience.
