A new poll from the New York Times and CBS News shows businessman Donald Trump continuing to lead the Republican field at 27%. In second place though is Dr. Ben Carson, soaring to 23%.
Carson’s rise in the polls is similar to the pattern of polling seen in the 2012 cycle. In that nomination process, roughly every month had a different frontrunner. As the month would end, a different candidate would move into second and then first. Whether Carson moves into first remains to be seen. Any momentum currently at Carson’s back could either be amplified or destroyed.
Dr. Carson and Trump’s poll numbers add up to 50%, leaving little room for the other fourteen (fifteen in this poll because it included Rick Perry) candidates. Only Carson and Trump hit double-digits.
In third place is a three-way tie of former Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Ted Cruz, and former Governor Mike Huckabee. Under near constant attack from Trump, Bush has fallen from being a frontrunner to third place.
The poll is another example that Governor Scott Walker’s campaign is undergoing a full collapse. The poll registers him at 2%, down from 10% a month ago. Walker has said he will be more forceful in Wednesday’s debate.