Cruz surges past Carson in new Iowa poll

By Ryan Lovelace, Ryan Lovelace

Published December 20, 2015

Ted Cruz has surged past Ben Carson in Iowa, according to a new CBS/YouGov poll.

Carson dropped 8 percentage points since CBS/YouGov's October poll, and the Texas senator improved by 9 percentage points, a huge 17-point swing.

Donald Trump has regained his lead in the state, and has the support of 30 percent of those surveyed, while Cruz finished in second at 21 percentage points. Carson now sits in third place at 19 percent, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has fourth at 11 percent, and Jeb Bush is in fifth with 5 percent.

Cruz scores best among all the candidates when Iowans are asked who is ready to be the commander in chief. Approximately 67 percent of Hawkeye State voters think Cruz is ready, 51 percent of respondents think the same of Rubio, and 49 percent of those surveyed think Trump is ready to lead the nation.