Carson leads Trump in new national poll

Presidential candidate Ben Carson is leading rival Donald Trump in the latest national poll released Monday, helping solidify his position at the front of the crowded GOP field.

Retired neurosurgeon Carson takes 29 percent support among GOP primary voters, while real estate magnate Trump receives 23 percent, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

It’s the first time a Republican other than Trump has been atop the poll since June, and comes a week after another national poll also found Carson in first place.

{mosads}The latest national survey finds Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in third place with 11 percent support, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stands at 10 percent. 

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush follows at 8 percent in the poll. In June, that figure stood at 22 percent. Bush has been trying to jump-start his campaign since last week’s debate on Oct. 28 in Boulder, Colo. The survey was conducted over the three days before the debate and on the day after.

Carson entered the third GOP debate last week with a lead in several Iowa polls and a slight edge over Trump in a New York Times/CBS News survey.

Before the debate Trump was leading in an NBC poll with 25 percent support, while Carson was at 22 percent, Rubio at 13 percent, Cruz at 9 percent and Bush at 8 percent. 

The latest survey of 400 Republican primary voters from NBC and The Journal was conducted via landlines and cellphones with a 4.9 percent margin of error.