Ted Cruz has taken a lead over his rival Donald Trump, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers. The results showed 24 percent supported Cruz, followed by 19 percent backing Trump.
"This marks the first time Ted Cruz has held a lead in any of the crucial early states. As Ben Carson's stock has fallen, Cruz has been able to corral most of those voters," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, N.J.
The poll is a big contrast compared to the last Monmouth poll in October, in which Carson led. Carson's stock has since fallen by 19 percentage points while Cruz has gained by 14 percentage points, reports The New York Times.
"It is very encouraging. We're seeing a continuation of the energy and momentum that has been gradually and steadily building in Iowa and South Carolina and New Hampshire all across the country," Cruz said after the poll results, according to ABC News. "And from the beginning, the approach of this campaign was to build a campaign on a foundation of stone, not a foundation of sand, following a biblical principle of systematically unifying and bringing together conservatives and we're seeing that happening powerfully in the state of Iowa, it's very encouraging. And we've got a long way to go, but it's certainly true that going up is better than going down."
