National Poll: Trump leads; Cruz rises as Dr. Carson falls

The Iowa caucuses are set for February 1st.

With a single comment, Republican Donald Trump ignited a firestorm of controversy. Marco Rubio, who is in fourth place with 10 percent, practically unchanged since October. Ted Cruz speaks during the Sunshine Summit conference being held at the Rosen Shingle Creek on November 13, 2015 in Orlando, Florida.

Yes, you heard that right. She added: “I think for weeks, you know, you and everybody else were just bringing folks to hysterical laughter and all of that”.

By the same token, Trump’s attacks on Carson may have only bolstered Cruz’s candidacy.

Trump went on the offensive after polls showed Cruz was gaining on him nationally, and had even overtaken him in Iowa, by branding him a “maniac” who will “never get anything done”.

But behind closed doors, Cruz was recorded saying last week that voters are asking themselves, “Who am I comfortable having their finger on the button?”

Texas US Senator Ted Cruz has solidified his lead among Republican presidential contenders in the politically crucial state of Iowa, a new poll showed. Not only did we know that would be the case but we also know that it has done him, roughly, zero good.

The pair appears to be heading toward a clash that Cruz, at least, long sought to delay.

It’s no secret that Donald Trump’s success can partly be attributed to a crowded GOP field with a handful or more of candidates you can fairly describe as mainstream establishment. Neither Santorum in the 2012 cycle nor Huckabee in the 2008 cycle reported more than $2 million cash on hand at any point in the campaign.

In Iowa, where Trump now trails Ted Cruz, the numbers aren’t much better.

Cruz, who sees himself as a fellow anti-establishment Republican, has avoided directly attacking Trump for months, reluctant to alienate Trump voters who might view him as an alternative should Trump lose out. Regardless of which poll one takes as gospel, he’s ahead in Iowa.

The trio – Trump, Carson and Cruz – are splitting the conservative “outsider” vote, pundits are saying.

That means Cruz could ride Iowa’s momentum through what they’re calling the “SEC Primary”, with seven southern states voting March 1st, including his home state of Texas. Winning one of the first three states is nearly certainly the way a candidate makes it to March.

And it is starting to look like he could become the safe refuge for people who like Trump’s message but are alarmed by his outbursts. Cruz’s poll surge is being pushed along by evangelicals and Tea party conservatives.

From the other side of the political aisle, Trippi agrees: “You want to be an outsider in this race; you don’t want to be seen as the insider”.

Trump said party leaders need to “get used to” him being in the race, and he hopes that reports that Republican Party officials gathered recently to discuss contesting his nomination – even if he receives the required number of delegates – are incorrect. Rubio, of Florida, is also trying to make an issue of Cruz’s immigration stance – insisting that Cruz has less of a hard line on the issue than he lets on.

Donald Trump has stepped up his war of words with British officials over what he calls the UK’s “massive Muslim problem”, claiming more British Muslims join Isis than the Armed Forces.