| the Numbers | |||||||||
| Among likely Republican caucus goers | |||||||||
| Carson | Cruz | Rubio | Trump | Not Sure | |||||
| Would be best at managing the economy | 7 | 24 | 10 | 50 | 8 | ||||
| Would do the most to solve the illegal immigration problem | 5 | 22 | 15 | 50 | 8 | ||||
| Knows the most about how to get things done | 6 | 22 | 13 | 49 | 10 | ||||
| Would be the best at reducing the federal deficit | 6 | 27 | 10 | 48 | 10 | ||||
| Can best combat Islamic terrorism | 5 | 32 | 13 | 35 | 16 | ||||
| Would be best at dealing with Vladimir Putin | 10 | 31 | 13 | 34 | 13 | ||||
| Has the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton | 11 | 26 | 20 | 30 | 14 | ||||
| Would make the best commander in chief | 12 | 34 | 18 | 25 | 11 | ||||
| Has the most appropriate life experience to be president | 10 | 34 | 19 | 24 | 13 | ||||
| Cares the most about people like you | 24 | 28 | 19 | 17 | 12 | ||||
| Has the right values to lead the nation | 22 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 10 | ||||
| Would work most effectively with Congress | 18 | 31 | 29 | 12 | 10 | ||||
| Has the best temperament to be president | 23 | 24 | 25 | 11 | 7 | ||||
| Would do the most to make all abortion illegal | 23 | 32 | 7 | 6 | 32 | ||||
| 182 | 401 | 229 | 407 | 174 | |||||
| All other things being equal, which of the following | |||||||||
| is a more attractive candidate for president at this time: | |||||||||
| 39 | A government outsider who has handled | ||||||||
| complex issues and managed teams | |||||||||
| 30 | A U.S. senator, who has involvement with national | ||||||||
| security and international relations and diplomatic issues | |||||||||
| 19 | A governor, who has worked with a legislature and | ||||||||
| who has been responsible for balancing a budget | |||||||||
| 12 | Not sure | ||||||||
| Which one of the following Republicans would be | |||||||||
| your first choice for president? | |||||||||
| And who would your second choice be? | |||||||||
| If Uncommitted or not sure in first choice question, | |||||||||
| code second choice | |||||||||
| as no first choice and do not ask. | |||||||||
| FIRST | SECOND | COMBINED | |||||||
| Cruz, Ted | 31 | 20 | 51 | ||||||
| Trump Donald | 21 | 14 | 35 | ||||||
| Carson, Ben | 13 | 14 | 27 | ||||||
| Rubio, Marco | 10 | 14 | 24 | ||||||
| Bush, Jeb | 6 | 5 | 11 | ||||||
| Christie, Chris | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
| Huckabee, Mike | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||||||
| Paul, Rand | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
| Kasich, John | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||
| Fiorina, Carley | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| Santorum, Rick | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Gilmore, Jim | - | - | - | ||||||
| Graham, Linda | - | - | - | ||||||
| Pataki, George | - | - | - | ||||||
| Not Sure | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| Uncomitted | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| No First Choice | 7 | ||||||||
1. Trump slammed a poll that has not yet been released
2. Trump started attacking Cruz
3. Trump now calls himself an evangelical
4. There were rows of empty chairs on Friday night
5. Trump walked back having suggested that Iowans are "stupid"
6. Trump made clear that winning Iowa is very, very, very important
Bonus: Trump encouraged his fans to marvel at his Iowa co-chair's weight
".......Trump's much more of a fighter, even than Ted Cruz, and we need a fighter.
But on the other hand, Ted Cruz is much more balanced. He doesn't pick enemies needlessly. Every word is measured and considered, which can be viewed as timid or thought-out, depending on your perspective.
Donald Trump is like a Terminator with no friend-or-foe sensor. He called Megyn Kelly a bimbo. I winced when he said that Ben Carson, a thoroughly decent man, has "pathological illness" when Carson was referring to his youthful violent nature. Trump made a nasty swipe at Ted Cruz's religion by saying "not many evangelicals come out of Cuba." He told a Jewish group that they wouldn't vote for him because they wanted a candidate they could control with their money. He wants to ban all Muslim immigrants for a time (which I support), but a much less incendiary way of doing it is to ban immigrants from ISIS-infested countries, as Cruz wants to do. Trump gets offended very easily and is quick to insult others and get angry. Not the best trait for the president of the United States, who may need to build alliances and bring people along.
So Trump has more of the aggressiveness we need, but maybe he is too aggressive in some ways. Ted Cruz is a little more cautious than I might like, but with few unnecessary and even puzzling outbursts..."
Those poll results are interesting. Trump gets more votes for “best to take down ISIS”, but Cruz gets more for “best commander in chief”. Plus a host of other contradictions. Tells me more about the voters than it does the candidates.
Yes, Cruz impressive with the temperament, working with congress etc. So relieved it finally seems some voters are considering Trump’s use of words. 11% for Trump on temperament.