Dec. 13--Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has taken a substantial lead among Republican presidential candidates in the Iowa caucus, leading second-place Donald Trump by 10 percentage points in a new survey released Saturday night.
The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll confirmed a recent trend that has shown Cruz gaining in the state, which holds the first contest in the presidential primary and generally supports culturally conservative candidates in its Republican caucuses. A poll released earlier this week showed Cruz leading Trump by 5 percentage points.
Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson had led in most other polls taken in recent months.
The poll released Saturday showed Cruz as the first choice for 31% of those who responded, with Trump having support from 21% and Carson coming in third with 13%. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, with 10%, was the only other candidate in the double digits. Cruz also led all candidates when voters were asked for their second-choice candidate, underscoring his strength in the state.
The telephone poll of 400 Republican voters who said they will definitely or probably attend the Feb. 1 caucuses was taken Monday through Thursday, meaning many if not all of the interviews took place after Trump called for barring all Muslims from entering the U.S. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
The polling firm, Selzer Co. of Des Moines, is considered one of the best at predicting the state, which is notoriously difficult to poll accurately.
Pollster J. Ann Selzer, speaking to the Register, called the results a "big shake-up."
noah.bierman@latimes.com
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