Free Republic

A new poll shows Ben Carson's net favorability rating has dropped 12 percentage points, while Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz's favorability ratings have each risen nine points. The GOP presidential candidates' favorability rankings have undergone some massive shifts, according to Gallup's Daily tracking poll. Carson has long held the largest net favorability rating among the Republican candidates, but the senators are gaining ground fast. Carson's net favorability rating is 49 percentage points, while Rubio's net favorability rating is 48 points, and Cruz's net rating is at 45 points, according to data collected from a survey conducted since November 6. "For...

Ted Cruz, buoyed by tea party support and the backing of much of the conservative wing of the Republican Party, has surged to a virtual tie with Donald Trump in Iowa, generating the kind of momentum his team thinks will carry him deep into primary season. “Sixty-eight days until Iowa,” said Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier, when asked whether the Texas senator was peaking too soon. “It’s game time.” A Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday found Cruz essentially deadlocked with longtime poll-leader Donald Trump in Iowa: Trump stood at 25 percent and Cruz at 23 percent, within the margin of error....