Cruz surges to the top in Iowa poll

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has overtaken long-time GOP front runner Donald Trump in the latest Iowa poll.

The poll, released Saturday, showed Cruz garnering the support of 31 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. That's a 21 percent leap from where he was polling in October, giving the Texas Senator a comfortable lead over Trump, who has been bumped to second place at 21 percent.

The Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll also held bad news for Dr. Ben Carson, who dropped from 28 percent in October to 13 percent. Bloomberg reports Carson may have lost the support of Iowa's Evangelical voters, who appear to have thrown their support behind Cruz. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., came in fourth with 10 percent.

Cruz's sudden rise in the polls is the largest jump between Iowa Polls recorded in the last five presidential caucus campaigns.

Jeb Bush crawled up one point since the last poll to six percent. Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Bush, has been the biggest spender when it comes to TV ads, according to Kantar/CMAG. Bush also plummeted in favorability ratings, from 50 percent in October to 39 percent in Saturday's poll.

In another surge, Cruz jumped in favorability from 61 percent on October to 72 percent in Saturday's poll. Rubio remained steady at 70 percent favorability. Carson dropped from 84 percent favorability in October to 72 percent, and Trump only dropped two percentage points from 59 percent to 57.

Trump appeared to be anticipating bad news, attacking The Des Moines Register Friday, and targeting Cruz earlier in the week.