Ben Carson's lock on the
most-popular GOP presidential candidate is getting a serious challenge from Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz – with the Florida senator in a virtual tie with Carson for best-liked,
Gallup poll analysts say.
Polling firm analyst Andrew Dugan and Gallup's editor-in-chief, Frank Newport, write Tuesday Rubio's and Texas lawmaker Cruz's "net favorable rating" – the difference between the share of Republicans who say they have a favorable opinion and those who've got an unfavorable view – is now 48 and 45 respectively.
The retired pediatric neurosurgeon's net favorable rating is 49 for the latest two-week rolling average as measured by Gallup's Daily tracking – a significant drop from the 61 he registered in early November, the analysts note.
"Rubio, now statistically tied with Carson for the title of best-liked GOP candidate, was judged by many in the press and political class to have registered an especially strong debate performance in the Oct. 28 contest," the writers argue.
"Cruz is also now experiencing a jolt of warm impressions from the Republican faithful after months during which he appeared to gain little traction in terms of improving his image."
The pair write Cruz may have turned the tide in the third GOP debate, when he blasted the
CNBC panel moderators – and then lashed into the media at large.
"This, no doubt, resonated with the Republican faithful; Gallup has repeatedly found that Republicans are very unlikely to say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in the mass media," the analysts write. "Cruz now has the highest net favorable score since Gallup began tracking in mid-July."
For Carson, however, the downward slide comes in the wake of
challenges to his image over his personal biography, the writers note.
According to the pollsters, the favorability tracking also shows:
- A "major jump" in the net favorable rating for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who stands at 12 in the latest two-week average – up 14 points.
- Carly Fiorina, at 26, has seen her net favorable rating increase by 7 points.
- Donald Trump, at 20, has a net favorable rating increase of 3 points.
- Jeb Bush is "relatively stable" at 16, with no net favorability rating increase.
- Ohio Gov. John Kasich's net favorable rating is at 6, a 3 point rise.
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