Cruz Edges Past Trump in Latest Iowa Poll

Republican Senator Ted Cruz is the front-runner in Iowa, according to the most recent Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll, where the Texas conservative is 10 points ahead of business mogul Donald Trump.

Cruz has the support of 31 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers, the first-in-the nation contest for the nomination, while 21 percent say they’ll back Trump. Cruz surge has meant bad news for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has mustered up the support of 13 percent of likely voters, down from nearly 30 percent just a few weeks back.

According to Bloomberg Politics, Cruz has made significant gains among “non-college” voters—those without college degrees—who have been rallying behind Trump throughout much of the campaign. Cruz is about nine points ahead of Trump among non-college voters (32 to 23) and he’s maintained an 11 point lead over Trump among the college educated.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush round out the top five choices for president among Iowa Republicans in the poll, though the two have only 10 and 6 percent support, respectively.

Though Cruz leads in Iowa, the fiery Trump still leads in national polls. The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Trump receiving 27% support among likely Republican primary voters, with Cruz coming in second at 22%. According to NBC when given the choice between five candidates—Cruz, Trump, Rubio, Carson, and Bush—Trump maintains 30% support. Cruz follows not-too-far behind at 24%.

The polls were released ahead of the upcoming Republican presidential debate on Tuesday, which will be live from Las Vegas.

[Bloomberg]