Ted Cruz has taken the lead in the important Midwestern state of Iowa, leaping past Trump by 5 percentage points. The most recent Monmouth poll shows that Ben Carson has dropped by 19 points and Cruz has gone up 14 since the last poll 2 months ago.
The poll also revealed a surprising preference split between male and female voters: men are more likely to vote for Cruz or Trump over Rubio and Carson, while women support Rubio and Cruz over Carson and Trump.
Not all polls agree about Cruz. A similar poll of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa conducted by CNN shows Trump still in the lead with 33% and Cruz in second place with 20%. In regards to national polls, however, Ted Cruz has skyrocketed into what some are calling a three-way tie for second place between Cruz, Marco, and Carson.
Two months ago things were looking bleak for Cruz with only single-digit support. So what happened? First of all, Carson is losing voter support fast; many of these individuals have turned their eyes to Cruz as a replacement. Second, Ted Cruz has dramatically altered his speaking style.
The soft-spoken, apologetic mannerisms of Ted Cruz have been replaced with a deeper, louder tone and an aggressive way of speaking. Even his online personality has changed, as is exemplified with Twitter posts like this challenging statement: “Mr. President, if you want to insult me, insult me to my face. Let’s have a debate on Syrian refugees right now!”
Seems he’s taken some pointers from the Donald.