Posted on 12/07/2015 9:09:43 AM PST by GIdget2004
Stoked by evangelical and tea-party support, Ted Cruz has surged to first place in Iowa, according to the results of a Monmouth University poll released Monday surveying voters likely to participate in the Republican caucus on Feb. 1.
Cruz earned 24 percent of support among likely caucus-goers, with 19 percent opting for Donald Trump, whose polling advantage in the state has dwindled in recent weeks. In a Quinnipiac University survey conducted in mid-November, Trump held a slim 25 percent to 23 percent advantage over Cruz, while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson finished with 18 percent.
In this survey, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished third with 17 percent, followed by 13 percent for Carson (a 19-point drop from October), 6 percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 4 percent for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 3 percent for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and 2 percent for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. All other candidates finished with 1 percent or less support, with 4 percent undecided and 1 percent describing themselves as "uncommitted."
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Cruz takes the heartland, Trump takes the coasts, and the GOPe gets NOTHING!
Let the best man win!
If Trump has really slipped in Iowa it’s because he called the voters stupid for supporting Carson. He got his point across but the benefactor was Cruz, not him. This tactic will not work in SC and I predict Trump takes the state.
If Iowa doesn’t matter they would not be critical.
Yep, it was an easy call for the Carson âleadâ too. The drive bys and pollsters are desperate to stop Trump. Iâll say again, I believe the polls. But Iâm highly suspicious of those that show Carson . . . or Cruz . . . coming out of nowhere to âsurgeâ ahead of the guy whoâse been on top, everywhere, for six months.
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I am a skeptic when it comes to individual polls. I am also a skeptic when they suddenly show candidates surging out of nowhere for no real reason. That is not the case with most polls over the last month or so.
Cruz hasn’t really “surged.” He has been slowly but steadily climbing since the second debate.
Carson keeps talking and his poll numbers reflect that. He has been steadily declining.
Trump’s recent decline in Iowa is a bit more troublesome to explain but can probably be attributed to ground game. Trump is everywhere, holding rallies across the country. His national numbers are off the chart and the national poll numbers reflect this. Cruz, however, has been much more focused on Iowa and that seems to be reflected in the trends shown in the polls as well.
Rubio has been launching highly visible ads in Iowa attacking Cruz (from what I have read). He is not shaking Cruz or Trump supporters but is getting some of the GOPe voters (the Bush, Kasich, Krispy Kreme and undecided GOPe supporters).
Ted Cruz No liberal appeal ? Just darnit, what a shame.
I agree: FL will be the forecast state again. Takes a ton of money to play there.
Does anybody know where the FL primary sits relative to the debate schedule? Wondering if a Newt style/SC repeat could be in line for FL for somebody like Cruz this year.
LOL, you ain’t joking.
They tell me not to even go on Trump threads and talk about Trump there, or anywhere on FR but yet ? They come on Ted Cruz threads at free will and trash Ted Cruz and his supporters.
As Ted Cruz climbs higher in the polls consistantly and over takes Trump they will get desparte to dislodge Ted Cruz as the premere anti-establishment candidate.
You can tell a lot about someone by the enemies they have, and Trump and Cruz got the same enemy list!
This Trump vs Cruz slap fight is dumb and counter productive. They are the only two men fighting for America, and if either were the nominee I would be very happy moving forward.
you ought to go in and ask them for anything (!!!) that Trump has ever actually DONE in his life that shows that he has any sincerely held conservative beliefs. Been doing it for months...
Here are the answers I’ve received (seriously):
1. Watch the Apprentice...you’ll see (really?!?)
2. He supports veterans (just like Dems do when they need their votes)
3. He’s a really successful businessman, therefore he’s a capitalist, therefore he’s a conservative (I tend to think Bill Gates, George Lucas, Steve Jobs might object to that characterization)
Its great fun watching them twist themselves into knots and then turn and attack because that’s all they’ve got. I think I’m going to change my tack though and start asking them if they want Capt Kardashian appointing the next 3 supreme court justices.
LOL! Perhaps in the next few weeks he will break out of the pack.
Iowa isn’t about advertising, it’s about getting your people to a community building, at night, on a cold Winter’s evening.
If she does break out of the pack, it will more likely be below the bottom, rather that over the top.
[[you ought to go in]]
Can’t- I’m too busy jabbing myself In the eye with a sharp stick
I did pose several questions after the initial pile on was over- and basically all I got was “People in business like Trump have to deal with ‘dirty politics’ all the time... therefore he would make an excellent president and anyone that doesn’t agree is a big poopie head”
Well Conservative like me could not care about Trump at all...
There’s that.
coming out of nowhere to âsurgeâ ahead of the guy whoâse been on top, everywhere, for six months.
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Trump was never that far ahead in Iowa— it’s not made for him.
I posted a thread weeks ago, and you and I discussed the issue (I believe)- Carson and Cruz were splitting the conservative/ evangelical vote; Trump should have left them.
Instead Trump, either deliberately or inadvertently, handed Cruz the advantage when he attacked Carson personally and called Iowans “stupid”. Carson had a 80-90% favorability in the state. When Carson’s supporters left him, who were they going to turn to— the guy who called him “pathological”?
There’s no conspiracy here. One isn’t going to win a state when he calls its voters “stupid.”
Whether or not Trump deliberately ceded Iowa to Cruz will become evident soon. We’ll see how Trump reacts.
Cruz is not the establishment and if he surges to the top, there will be no line of attack anyone can use to take him down. Cruz is the real deal. The only issue Cruz has had has been publicizing himself and getting his positions and backstory widely known. Once he overcomes that, Cruz will be unstoppable to win the nomination, and he appears to be on his way.
You don’t win with Democrat-lite.
Pretty stunning to see on FR someone criticizing a Republican because Democrats don’t like him enough. Is this Trumpism?
The electability argument is a loser. Polls show most Republicans beating Hellary and Trump and Cruz were only 1 point apart in the last one.
If Cruz is “anti-constitutional,” then who the hell in your mind is constitutional enough?
And please don’t say Trump, who said he supports the government listening in on everyone’s phone calls.
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