Poll: Ben Carson Trumps Trump
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson trumps Donald Trump, according to a new poll by CBSNews and the New York Times.
Carson now narrowly leads the Republican field with 26 percent of Republican primary voters backing him. That's a four point edge over Trump's 22 percent support.
It's a major feat for Carson whose support has quadrupled since August.
"Just when you thought the Republican establishment could breathe a sigh of relief, it's not an establishment Republican that's taken over, but rather another anti-establishment candidate," said Fernand Amandi of the political consulting and polling firm Bendixen and Amandi.
Meantime, other Republican contenders are trailing far behind – in the single digits.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio is now in third place with eight percent, followed by former Florida governor Jeb Bush at seven percent. Carly Fiorina is also at seven percent.
The rest of the candidates are at four percent or less.
According to the poll, Carson has also made gains across key Republican groups. He is now ahead of Trump when it comes to support from women. As for men, he is neck in neck with Trump.
Carson has also gained major support among evangelicals, leading Trump with this group.
But all this can change. Seven in 10 Republican voters said it's too early to make a definite decision on a candidate.
CBS4 News had no difficulty Tuesday finding Republican voters unsympathetic to Trump's fall from the top of the national running.
"I think it's interesting and it's about time," said GOP voter Kevin Donovan at a restaurant in Doral. "I think Donald Trump has had his run."
Jose Monell, sitting a few tables away, was brutal in his assessment of his party's previous front runner.
"He's just a crazy guy. He's egotistic," Monell said. "He's weird. If that's the best candidate we have, then something's wrong."
While Carson has moved to the top, his supporters are less firm than that of Trump's who say their minds are made up.
While the new national poll may signal a decline for the Trump campaign, he was crowing in Doral Friday about Florida.
"I'm winning Florida. I'm beating Bush and Rubio," a beaming Trump told a crowd at his Trump National Resort in Doral.
A University of North Florida poll shows Trump with a whopping 28 percent. That's more than double Rubio and Bush's numbers who come in third and fourth in Florida behind a second place Carson.
"Anything less than a first place win in Florida for our hometown candidates, Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, in essence means they are out of the race for president," said Amandi, the pollster.
While Trump took a hit in the national poll released Tuesday, his credibility also took a hit.
As it announced its quarterly earnings, Ford Motor Company flatly refuted Trump's claims on the campaign trail that he persuaded the company to return a thousand jobs from Mexico to the United States. Ford executives said the decision to move the jobs to Ohio was made long before anyone announced a presidential bid, and they never heard of the issue – directly or indirectly – from Trump.