Poll: Walker drops, Trump rises in Iowa

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker addresses a crowd at Giese Manufacturing on July 19, 2015, in Dubuque, Iowa.
(Mike Burley, AP)

Donald Trump is the strong front-runner in a new CNN/ORC poll

Despite all the criticism heaped on Trump

Likely GOP caucusgoers believe Trump would be the best in the Republican field to handle the economy, illegal immigration and terrorism, the poll shows.

Donald Trump (Scott Olson, Getty Images)

The survey

Walker, a former Iowan, gets 9%, hovering with the middle-of-the-pack crowd: Ted Cruz, 8%; Carly Fiorina, 7%; Mike Huckabee, 7%; and 5% for the three-way tie of Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.

But caucusgoers’ opinions are still very fluid, the poll found. Just 15% say they’ve definitely decided; 66% say they’re still trying to decide, the survey found.

The shift is most striking for Walker. He has been the consistent Iowa front-runner since January, although his numbers has been gradually dropping since his high-water mark conducted Aug. 7-10 by Suffolk University

“Although 11 percent see him as the most electable in the field, he hasn’t impressed on the issues,” CNN reported

The poll of 544 likely Republican caucusgoers has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

CNN/ORC also surveyed Iowa Democratic likely caucusgoers. Hillary Clinton remains the frontrunner with 50%. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is 19 points behind her, with 31%.

Vice President Biden, who hasn’t said whether he’ll pursue a 2016 presidential bid, claims 12%.

The other Democratic presidential candidates are at 1% or less, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Jacobs reports for The Des Moines Register.