Early presidential polls: Why they matter

A new Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll shows that Carson has surged past Donald Trump to lead the crowded Republican field as the top choice of 28 percent of Iowa Republicans - 9 percentage points ahead of Trump.

The Times' Martin Patriquin wrote an op-ed published October 16 about how former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's re-election campaign - which did not succeed - had invoked a few of the anti-Muslim sentiment Carson has been attacked for in America.

"Those who know Carson seem to like him", Brown added.

Polls show trump is still in first nationwide, but Carson is looking to solidify his position, going up on the airwaves with two new ads slamming Washington.

Carson was also asked to contrast his temperament with the more outspoken Trump. Both ads end with the tagline: "Heal, Inspire, Revive".

For much of the summer, Donald Trump dominated Republican presidential polls everywhere, and Iowa was no different.

Dr. Ben Carson continues to be calm about his presidential campaign, despite his new status as republican front-runner in Iowa and target of Donald Trump's taunts.

"I like Ben, but he can not do with trade like I do", Trump said.

Trump, who still maintains the lead in national polls for the Republican ticket, took to social media to denigrate the significance of his opponent's lead in Iowa. That's a 14-point swing from the same survey taken in late August that found Trump up by 5 points, 23 percent to 18 percent.

As Bush struggles, Trump is treading on his competitors' home turf, holding a campaign event in Miami, Florida, home state of Bush as well as Marco Rubio.

Still, Michael Binder, a University of North Florida pollster and political science professor, said Trump's "shine is starting to wear off", noting his approval percentage was the lowest in recent statewide polls. Hundreds of Trump supporters gathered to hear the possible presidential candidate talk about his leadership plans in the ballroom of his golf resort and hotel collection.

Previously, Trump has touted the numbers from these two polls when he's in first place.

Rubio has been "up and down in the polls, and he's now rising", said Conant. A quarter of male voters said they'd support the respective campaigns.

"I can't even describe the lunacy of him as our nominee".

After Carson, not a single Trump competitor is ranked 10% or above on an average of polls kept by Real Clear Politics.