Polls: Trump, Carson fight it out in Iowa

Two new polls put Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in a close contest in the Republican presidential race in Iowa.

A Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll released over the weekend shows Trump leading in Iowa, with 23 percent of likely caucusgoers backing him. Carson is in second place at 18 percent.

Meanwhile, a Monmouth University poll released Monday shows the two tied for the top spot in Iowa, with each at 23 percent.

Trump and Carson are resonating with an Iowa electorate that, at least so far, appears to want somebody outside the mainstream to be their presidential nominee.

'I think it's anti-Washington. People are really tired of the mess we have in Washington,” Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said at his news conference Monday.

The Monmouth poll, however, says it's also an anti-government feeling that's driving the choices of Iowa Republicans. The poll found that 66 percent of Iowa Republicans think the country needs a president from outside government with a new approach, rather than 23 percent who want someone with government experience.

Trump, the New York real estate developer and television personality, has been the Republican front-runner in several national and state polls, and despite predictions that he would fade, his campaign has persisted. And in Iowa, his fortunes are on the upswing.

Trump went from getting the support of 4 percent of Iowa Republicans in the Register/Bloomberg poll in May to 23 percent in this latest survey, which was conducted Aug. 23-26. The poll of 400 Republicans has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Carson, while getting less media attention, also has seen a sharp upswing in support, going from 10 percent to 18 percent since May.

Both also have seen a sharp rise in support since Monmouth last surveyed the state in July. Carson went from 8 percent in July to 23 percent in this latest survey. Trump went from 13 percent to 23 percent. This poll was conducted Aug. 27-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Both polls say Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has slipped in Iowa. Walker had been leading here with 17 percent, according to the Register/Bloomberg poll from May. But the August survey has him tied for third with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at 8 percent.

The Monmouth poll had Walker dropping from 22 percent in July to 7 percent in this latest survey.

The polls also say there's been an erosion of support for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and 2008 caucus winner Mike Huckabee. Paul went from 10 percent to 4 percent and Huckabee from 9 percent to 4 percent, the Register/Bloomberg poll said. They also lost ground in the Monmouth poll.

The Monmouth poll had encouraging news for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, saying 10 percent of Iowans back her candidacy, up from 3 percent in July.

The Register/Bloomberg poll put Fiorina at only 5 percent, although that's also better than the 2 percent she got in the May survey.

Fiorina has been fighting to get into the next Republican debate, to be held Sept. 16 in California and shown on CNN.

Cruz followed Fiorina in the Monmouth poll at 9 percent.

In both polls, the other candidates were in single digits.

The Register/Bloomberg poll had former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tied at 6 percent.

Gazette reporter Rod Boshart contributed to this story.