--- title: Cruz Edges Past Trump in Latest Iowa Poll description: Trump still leads in national polls canonical: https://time.com/4147408/cruz-edges-past-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-14T13:53:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:20:26.753Z article:section: Politics og:title: Cruz Edges Past Trump in Latest Iowa Poll og:description: Trump still leads in national polls og:url: https://time.com/4147408/cruz-edges-past-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte3ac07e5ace1cfd4/6988752c196cf40cea039724/500818240.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Speaks On National Security At The Heritage Foundation og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cruz Edges Past Trump in Latest Iowa Poll twitter:description: Trump still leads in national polls twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte3ac07e5ace1cfd4/6988752c196cf40cea039724/500818240.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cruz Edges Past Trump in Latest Iowa Poll > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### 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. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 14, 2015 1:53 PM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 10: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at the Heritage Foundation December 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. Sen. Cruz spoke on "Securing America's Freedom: Protect, Defend, and Champion American Liberties through a Strong National Defense." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 10: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at the Heritage Foundation December 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. Sen. Cruz spoke on "Securing America's Freedom: Protect, Defend, and Champion American Liberties through a Strong National Defense." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 14, 2015 1:53 PM UTC Republican Senator Ted Cruz is the front-runner in Iowa, according to the most recent [Bloomberg/Des Moines Register](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-14/ted-cruz-poised-to-steal-iowa-from-donald-trump) 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_](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-14/ted-cruz-poised-to-steal-iowa-from-donald-trump), 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](http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/13/politics/republican-debate-gop-stage/index.html?eref=rss%5Fpolitics), which will be live from Las Vegas. \[[Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-12/cruz-soars-to-front-of-the-pack-in-iowa-poll-trump-support-stays-flat-ii3p88rp)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4147408/cruz-edges-past-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4147408/cruz-edges-past-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/"},"headline":"Cruz Edges Past Trump in Latest Iowa Poll","datePublished":"2015-12-14T13:53:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:20:26.753Z","description":"But Trump still leads in national polls","url":"https://time.com/4147408/cruz-edges-past-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/","keywords":["republicans","Sen. 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