The poll also found Republican front-runner Donald Trump leads among likely Republican primary voters by 19 points with 34 percent support, down 2 points since a similar poll on Thursday.
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His tally – just above 24%, for second place after Cruz and just ahead of Senator Marco Rubio – in the first vote after months of wall-to-wall media coverage raises serious questions about whether showmanship has a winning strategy. But his appeal never broadened much beyond the small group of libertarian-leaning Republicans who backed the previous White House bids of his father, Rep. Ron Paul.
After Rubio’s strong finish in Iowa, the Florida Republican earned a six-point boost in the survey, coming in second with 17 percent support.
Both men were elected to the Senate during the rise of the conservative tea party in 2010.
A decision in this regard was taken by the newly formed “Indian Americans for Trump 2016” – a political action committee – at its meeting in New Jersey on Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Steve King of western Iowa, who had endorsed Cruz, even tweeted the rumor on Twitter – saying he hoped Carson supporters would vote for Cruz rather than for a candidate who planned to get out. Bernie Sanders into some momentum for her shaken Democratic campaign.
However, after Monday night’s voting results in the Iowa primaries, Rubio is now seen as a threat, especially to Cruz who shifted his attention to him after slamming Trump in the past, the New York Times reported. The New Hampshire vote will test that assumption.
After emerging as the leading “establishment” candidate competing with Trump and Cruz, Rubio faces high stakes in New Hampshire.
Polls show well over half of Republican voters have yet to make up their minds. Jeb Bush holds fifth place at 10%, a hair behind Cruz and Kasich, with Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina well behind at 4% each.
“Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he illegally stole it”, Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
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Now, it’s true that Cruz engaged in more than his share of last-minute shenanigans in efforts to sway Iowa Republicans.
