A new survey of likely Republican Caucus participants shows presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are in a dead heat in Iowa.
Peter Brown is assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “Mr. Trump has 31 percent of the vote and Senator Cruz has 29 percent. That’s a statistical tie,” Brown says. Florida Senator Marco Rubio is in third with 15 percent of the support from the Iowa Republicans surveyed.
Trump and Cruz were also in a virtual tie for the lead in Iowa in the last Quinnipiac Poll released in December. Brown says this latest poll shows Cruz, perhaps, has more room for growth. “Seven percent of likely Iowa Caucus goers say they could not vote for Senator Cruz, but 26 percent say they could not vote for Trump,” Brown said.
Jeb Bush is singled out as the “biggest loser” in the latest poll, as he is down to only three percent support among Iowa Republicans. “Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who started out as the front runner in this race last spring, is now in very low single digits and his dreams of doing well in Iowa are long gone,” Brown said. The new poll also has bad news for Ben Carson. His support has dipped to seven percent.
“Two months ago, he was in the 20s and a contender for the title here in Iowa,” Brown said. Among the Iowa Republicans surveyed in the poll released today, 5 percent said they’re still undecided and 46 percent of those who named a candidate said they might change their mind before the Caucuses on February 1.