Cruz on Trump: ‘I do not think it is the right solution’

Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz now is leading in Iowa, according to a new poll that puts Donald Trump in second place. Most of the participants in the Monmouth poll were Iowans who not only are planning to go to the caucuses but had previously voted in GOP primaries in the state. It also may explain his rise over retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Trump.

Marco Rubio, the fresh-faced senator from Florida, is seen by many as the favorite of the party establishment given the lackluster showing on the campaign trail so far of his state’s former governor Jeb Bush. A few hours earlier, a Monmouth University poll showed Ted Cruz taking first place in Iowa with 24 percent, and Trump in second with 19 percent.

The poll suggests Trump may be able to overtake Cruz, however, if he is able to draw new Republican supporters to the typically low-turnout caucuses. Results for likely Democratic caucusgoers have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 points, it is 4 points for likely Republican caucusgoers.

The poll also showed that Carson’s support from Iowa evangelicals dropped from a commanding 36 percent in October to a current level of 15 percent.

“However, a CNN/ORC poll of Iowa released later Monday had a different result, with Trump at 33% and Cruz at 20%”.

According to The Washington Post, the debate, hosted by CNN, will reunite candidates who meet one of three criteria in polls conducted between October 29 and December 13 and recognized by CNN.

The destiny of one other contender, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, provides perhaps the most intriguing mystery.

Of the people surveyed, 52 percent of them think that Trump will likely win the general election come November 2016.

However, since then Carson has faced criticism on foreign policy issues. He is mired at six or seven percent in Iowa and New Hampshire polls, and the only candidate above him whose fade he might benefit from is Rubio’s. And just last month, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, endorsed him. Not only is Cruz well-positioned in the early-voting states; he’s also ready to fight for votes across the country, including in the critical South. “The Trump phenomenon took us all by surprise, but the Cruz phenomenon has not”.

Trump has remained strong in polls even as he has made controversial calls for keeping Muslims from entering the United States, as well as uttered other comments that have been condemned by his own party, including those running against him for the GOP presidential nomination.

At Trump’s Davenport, Iowa rally on Saturday, Ron Rockwell of Clinton, Iowa said he’s on the fence between Trump and Cruz, but leaning toward Cruz.