Sen. Marco Rubio has moved into the top tier of Republican presidential hopefuls vying in Iowa in the latest Loras College poll, but he’s hardly in a comfortable spot.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker leads as the first choice of 12.6 percent, followed by Rubio, R-Fla at 10 percent. Next is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 9.6 percent and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 8.6 percent. The poll, conducted April 21-23, was released Tuesday.
Among those trailing: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, 6.5 percent; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., 6.3 percent and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 6.3 percent.
“I think Senator Marco Rubio is the story of our current poll,” said poll director Christopher Budzisz. But, he added, “It remains to be seen whether this is a temporary blip or something more.”
The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus is expected to be held February 1. “The bottom line is that there hasn’t been much shaking out of the race at this point, and several candidates still have yet to officially declare,” Budzisz said.
Other key poll findings:
--Slightly more than a quarter of the likely Republican caucus electorate identifies as “mainstream Republican,” with those identifying as socially conservative the largest single group at 34.4 percent.
--First-time participants make up 36.1 percent of the total, about the same as in 2012.
--Issue positions matter. More than half said a candidate’s position is the most important factor in their decision.
--Seventy percent said fighting terrorism is “critically important” as they choose a candidate.
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