Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
With two days before the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump leads among likely Republican caucus-goers, according to the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll released Saturday.
Trump leads Ted Cruz in Iowa 28 percent to 23 percent. Marco Rubio is in third with 15 percent, followed by Ben Carson with 10 percent, and Rand Paul with 5 percent.
Fifty-five percent of likely Republican caucus-goers polled said their minds were made up; 45 percent of respondents said they could still be persuaded.
When asked who their second choice of candidates would be, 20 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers said Rubio, while 17 percent said Cruz.
The poll found 71 percent of Trump supporters said their minds were made up. According to Bloomberg Politics, in the final Iowa Poll before the 2012 GOP caucus, 51 percent said their minds were made up.
Trump’s lead is a reversal from a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll in early January. That poll showed Cruz leading Trump, 25 percent to 22 percent.
Seventy percent of likely Republican caucus-goers said they had a favorable opinion of Rubio; while Jeb Bush was among the most disliked candidates. The survey found 53 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of the former Florida governor.
The Iowa Poll is considered one of the most respected polls. The Iowa-based firm of Selzer & Co. was awarded an A-plus rating from the FiveThirtyEight blog.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 45 percent to 42 percent.
The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll was conducted from Tuesday to Friday and has a 4 percent margin of error.
