Texas Sen. [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] is closing in on Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump in a new national poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University.
The poll shows Trump, the New York businessman, leading with 28 percent. Cruz follows with 24 percent. The two others with support in the double-digits are Florida Sen. [crscore]Marco Rubio[/crscore] (12 percent) and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson (10 percent).
The Quinnipiac poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
The poll is another indication that Cruz is establishing himself as Trump’s strongest competitor as voters prepare to head to the polls. The first Republican voters will meet for the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.
While Trump leads all of his Republican rivals in most states, Cruz is ahead of Trump in Iowa. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average there, Cruz leads Trump 30.2 percent to Trump’s 26.2 percent.
When confronted with a rival whose poll numbers appear to be threatening him — think Jeb Bush or Ben Carson — Trump has been known to pounce. But more than any other candidate, Cruz has religiously avoided going after Trump in an attempt not to alienate his conservative supporters.
Though Trump has gently attacked Cruz in recent weeks, the businessman seemed to pull his punches in last week’s presidential debate.
The poll surveyed 508 Republicans between Dec. 16-20.
Here is the breakdown:
Donald Trump – 28 percent
Ted Cruz – 24 percent
Marco Rubio – 12 percent
Ben Carson – 10 percent
Chris Christie – 6 percent
Jeb Bush – 4 percent
Carly Fiorina – 2 percent
[crscore]Rand Paul[/crscore] – 2 percent
Mike Huckabee – 1 percent
John Kasich – 1 percent
Rick Santorum – 1 percent