Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:50 pm
The Republican presidential primary is the gift that keeps on giving to Democrats. First, Donald Trump dominated the Republican field. Now, Ted Cruz is leading the Republicans in Iowa.
The latest Des Moines Register poll has Cruz setting records by gaining record 21 points and leading Donald Trump 31%-21%. Ben Carson is at 13%, followed by Marco Rubio (10%) and Jeb Bush at 6%.
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The rise of Cruz is backed up by a Fox News poll of Iowa that found Cruz edging Trump 28%-26% with Rubio third at 13%. Ben Carson was fourth at 10%, and Jeb Bush was tied for fifth with Rand Paul at 5%.
It is not a surprise that the same state Republicans who gave Rick Santorum the win in 2012 would end their flirtation with Trump and come back to Ted Cruz. Sen. Cruz has been working hard on the ground lining up the state’s evangelical voters. The same evangelical crowd that flirted with Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann before settling on Santorum in 2012 have danced with Ben Carson and Donald Trump before maybe settling on Cruz in 2016.
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump atop the Republican field is a dream come true for Democrats. None of the top three candidates in Iowa can win a general election matchup against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
According to Politico, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta recently told donors that Cruz is the likely Republican nominee, “Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta handicapped the GOP race for 90 Democratic donors assembled at a private fundraising event in Berkeley, California, on Thursday night, according to a Clinton backer who was in the room, telling the crowd that he viewed Cruz as the likeliest nominee, followed by Trump, and then Marco Rubio.”
The Republican field couldn’t be looking better for Democrats. In many ways, the divisive and disliked Cruz would be easier for Democrats to run against than Donald Trump. Cruz has the government shutdown and record as long as your arm of statements that could lose a general election.
The rise of Ted Cruz is an early Christmas present for Democrats as Republicans voters have embraced the spirit of giving by trying to gift four more years in the White House to the Democratic nominee.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
