Donald Trump is a totally overrated loser -- and the latest Iowa poll proves it

Once the clear leader in the Hawkeye state, Trump now trails Ben Carson by 8 points

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published October 22, 2015 12:50PM (EDT)

  (Reuters/Brian Snyder/AP/Rainier Ehrhardt/Photo montage by Salon)
(Reuters/Brian Snyder/AP/Rainier Ehrhardt/Photo montage by Salon)

Donald Trump is no longer sitting atop the polls in every state as he's just lost his lead in the Iowa, which kicks off the presidential nomination process with its February 1 caucuses.

Ben Carson has surged past The Donald in the latest Quinnipiac University poll of Hawkeye state Republicans.

Carson leads Trump, 28 percent to 20 percent. That is a flip from a September survey which had Trump at 27 percent and Carson at 21 percent.

“It’s Ben Carson’s turn in the spotlight,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. According to Brown, Carson also has “almost unheard of” favorability numbers. A whopping 84 percent of Iowa voters hold a favorable opinion of the soft-spoken, retired neurosurgeon. "Those who know Carson seem to like him," Brown added.

Most notably, Carson is very popular with Republican women in Iowa, with one-third backing his candidacy. 36 percent of white, evangelical Christians also support Carson, making up another substantial portion of his base.

For his part, continued national frontrunner Donald Trump faces 30 percent of Iowa Republicans indicating that they “would definitely not support” his candidacy.

Marco Rubio shot to third place with 13 percent, after receiving only 5 percent support in last month's poll. Then Ted Cruz is next with 10 percent. Even Rand Paul, whose campaign has been dogged with dropout rumors for weeks, comes in higher in Iowa (6 percent) than former Florida governor Jeb Bush who is tied for sixth place with only 5 percent.

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By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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2016 Republican Primary Aol_on Ben Carson Donald Trump Iowa Caucus 2016 Polls