--- title: Carly Fiorina Jumps to Second Place New Poll description: Businesswoman Carly Fiorina jumped to second place behind billionaire Donald Trump in a new poll of GOP presidential contenders canonical: https://time.com/4041636/fiorina-gop-poll/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-20T14:56:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:04.502Z article:section: Politics og:title: Carly Fiorina Jumps to Second Place New Poll og:description: But Donald Trump is still number one og:url: https://time.com/4041636/fiorina-gop-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88e00185720e6df3/6988645f2dce0153d69e598f/42-77028299.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4858 og:image:height: 2733 og:image:alt: Heritage Foundation Take Back America Presidential Forum in Greenville, SC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Carly Fiorina Jumps to Second Place New Poll twitter:description: But Donald Trump is still number one twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88e00185720e6df3/6988645f2dce0153d69e598f/42-77028299.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Fiorina Jumps to Second Among GOP Contenders in New CNN Poll > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f9f1d1de-2649-4e05-aac1-a0208e971c66&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 20, 2015 2:56 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate and former CEO Carly Fiorina speaks at the Heritage Foundation Take Back America candidate forum on Sept. 18, 2015 in Greenville, South Carolina. Republican presidential candidate and former CEO Carly Fiorina speaks at the Heritage Foundation Take Back America candidate forum on Sept. 18, 2015 in Greenville, South Carolina. Richard Ellis—Corbis  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 20, 2015 2:56 PM UTC Businesswoman Carly Fiorina jumped to second place behind billionaire Donald Trump in a [new poll](http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/20/politics/carly-fiorina-donald-trump-republican-2016-poll/index.html) of GOP presidential contenders released Sunday. The surge follows her widely-lauded performance in this week’s Republican presidential debate. The new poll, conducted by CNN following the debate, shows Trump in the lead with 24% of support among registered Republican voters and independents who lean Republican. Fiorina, neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Senator Marco Rubio follow with 15%, 14% and 11% of the vote, respectively. The poll also suggests waning interest in the establishment candidates who led polls in earlier days of the GOP race. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush received 9% support. Not a single person polled said they supported Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a candidate who once led polls in the early voting state of Iowa. For Fiorina, the second-place status marks the latest sign of a surging campaign for a candidate that just weeks ago polled in the low single digits. The poll also marks the rise of Rubio, who pundits say also performed well in this week’s debate. 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