--- description: A majority of voters would choose Carson as either their first or second choice title: Poll: Ben Carson Ahead In GOP National Race image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ce836590740ee44/69886f62524fc0f5addf54e8/ben-carson.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ben Carson Takes Lead in GOP National Race ## Video: Watch Ben Carson Retell His Life Story [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Ben Carson Retell His Life Story](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3PLzGzLI.m3u8) (1:39)  _Published 2015-10-27. GOP Presidential Candidate Ben Carson retells his life story_ by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 3, 2015 5:26 PM CUT  Ben Carson speaks during a news conference before a campaign event at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood on Oct. 29, 2015. Ben Carson speaks during a news conference before a campaign event at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood on Oct. 29, 2015.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 3, 2015 5:26 PM CUT Ben Carson is leading the Republican presidential field, according to a poll released Tuesday. An [NBC News/_Wall Street Journal_ poll](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/nbc-wsj-poll-carson-surges-lead-national-gop-race-n456006 "undefined") finds the retired neurosurgeon has support from 29 percent of GOP primary voters—the largest share of potential voters a Republican has garnered so far. Carson is followed by previous frontrunner Donald Trump at 23 percent, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 11 percent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 10 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at eight percent. His lead is outside the survey’s margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent. The phone survey of 1,000 people was conducted Oct. 25-29, both before and after CNBC’s Republican presidential debate on Oct. 28\. Carson was trailing Trump by 3 points before the debate at 22 percent in the last NBC/WSJ poll conducted in mid-October and the two have been trading places in other national polls over the last month. Carson is also picking up substantial support as a second choice among Republican voters. Taken together, 5o percent of GOP voters would choose Carson for either their first or second choice in the presidential race. Trump had 35 percent, while Rubio captured 24 percent. **Read More:** [_Read the Full Text of the CNBC Republican Debate in Boulder_](http://time.com/4091301/republican-debate-transcript-cnbc-boulder/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4098308/ben-carson-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4098308/ben-carson-poll/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Takes Lead in GOP National Race","datePublished":"2015-11-03T17:26:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:18:29.651Z","description":"A majority of voters would choose Carson as either their first or second choice","url":"https://time.com/4098308/ben-carson-poll/","keywords":["2016 Election topic","Sen. Marco Rubio","Poll","ted cruz","Polling","Donald Trump","Dr. Benjamin S. 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