Aaron Blake, THE WASHINGTON POST
(The Washington Post) — The big takeaway from this new poll of the Iowa GOP caucuses — from Monmouth University — is that Ben Carson has drawn even with Donald Trump, at 23 percent. And it comes a couple days after another poll showed Carson closing to within five.
That in and of itself is remarkable. Trump’s rise was already unbelievable; Carson’s is equally so. What’s even more amazing, though: The third-place candidate in this new poll is businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who like Trump and Carson has never held public office. In fact, they are the only three hopefuls in the GOP field who can say that, and they are 1-2-3.
In fourth place? Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who perhaps more than anybody embodies the outsider mentality from within the U.S. Senate.
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