Here’s Which GOP Candidate Is Ahead in Iowa

In Iowa, Jeb Bush has fallen to 7th place in the field, polling a paltry 5 percent.

One in five among likely GOP caucus voters remain undecided in the new Iowa poll. Marco Rubio of Florida at 10 percent. A Suffolk University poll of Iowa Republicans released Tuesday found Carson’s closing remarks to be the most memorable moment for those who watched the primetime debate.

The telephone survey of 414 likely Republican voters from Friday through Monday has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Maybe even more worrisome for the GOP: many Trump supporters point to his role on “The Apprentice” television series as Trump’s experience in dealing with problems and crisis and the reason they support him.

The results reflect a dip in support for Trump and Walker, compared to statewide surveys taken over the past month and averaged by RealClearPolitics.com.

Despite a heavily criticized debate performance – and the ensuing feud with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly – Trump still leads the Republican primary field in Iowa.

“I’m running as a Republican, I’m leading in every poll…I’m leading all over the place and I want to run as a Republican”, Trump said. A larger number, 46%, side with the real-estate mogul and reality-TV star, saying criticism of his comments about women “are just examples of political correctness”. Among those who call the economy their top concern, 39% say they most trust Trump to handle it. And those who cite a foreign policy concern also put Trump atop their list of trusted candidates for handling terrorism, but by a smaller margin: 17% trust Trump, while 10% Cruz, and 9% trust Paul. When asked if she should be allowed to participate in the next debate against the top candidates (regardless, apparently of her poll numbers), an overwhelming 93 percent said she should be invited.

Other candidates faring poorly were Kentucky Sen.

More than half of debate watchers said they were less comfortable with Trump as a candidate.

Next with 8 percent are retired neurologist Ben Carson and Texas Sen. Walker and Bush were the biggest loser, dropping 3% from the previous week.

Another crowd favorite was Ohio governor John Kasich, who rocked his home-court advantage and received the loudest applause when discussing his accomplishments as governor.

“Thursday’s debates breathed life into the campaigns of Rubio, Carson, Fiorina and Cruz”, says David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s Political Research Center.