With a big boost from women, Dr. Ben Carson leads Donald Trump 28 – 20 percent among Iowa likely Republican Caucus participants, with 13 percent for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and 10 percent for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
This compares to the results of a September 11 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University showing Trump at 27 percent with Carson at 21 percent.
Today, Sen. Rand Paul is at 6 percent, with Carly Fiorina and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 5 percent each. No other candidate tops 3 percent, with 3 percent undecided.
Carson tops Trump 33 – 13 percent among women. Men are divided as 25 percent back Carson and 24 percent go with Trump.
Trump tops the “no way” list as 30 percent of Iowa likely Republican Caucus participants say they “would definitely not support” him for the GOP nomination. Bush is next on this “no way” list with 21 percent.
That last little bit is pretty indicative of the entire Trump vibe in this campaign: it’s a love him or hate him affair. Carson, on the other hand, seems to be able to do anything at this point without much loss of support. The electorate seems to be in love with the idea of both of these men and aren’t particularly interested in the details the press thinks they should be paying attention to.
This is further reflected by some numbers deeper in the poll:
Looking at which candidate can best handle different issues, Carson leads in only one area, as 31 percent of Republicans say he can best handle social issues. On handling other issues:
Trump tops Carson 41 – 12 percent on the economy;
Trump over Carson 32 – 13 percent on taxes;
Trump tops Carson 37 – 9 percent on illegal immigration;
Rubio and Trump are close at 18 – 17 percent, respectively, on foreign policy, with Carson at 9 percent.
Translation: “We just like him!”
Given what has been going on with the GOP in the House recently, it probably wouldn’t be wise for the D.C. know-it-alls to bank on the anti-politician fervor to go away any time soon.
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