
Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in Iowa as Senator Bernie Sanders takes control of the Democratic race in the critical first-in-the-nation voting state, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released Thursday.
The poll found that Trump leads Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who is in second place in the GOP race, among likely Republican caucus-goers, 37% to 26%.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) comes in third at 14%, the only other Republican in double digits. Ben Carson failed to register half of Rubio's support and is in fourth place at 6%, noted CNN.
On the Democratic side, Sanders has opened up an eight-point lead over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, leading her in Iowa 51% to 43% among likely Democratic presidential caucus-goers, the poll found1.
The sampling is key for both leaders: Only including voters who previously caucused in their party's most recent competitive caucus, Cruz is neck-and-neck with Trump, with 30% for Cruz to 28% for Trump. Rubio is steady at 16% in that sample.
Of Democrats who caucused in 2008, Clinton leads Sanders, 55% to 38%, according to CNN.
The poll has also found that likely Republican caucus-goers are more divided when it comes to who would best handle foreign policy, with Trump (27%), Rubio (26%) and Cruz (25%) in a virtual three-way split.
On the question of which candidate better represents Republican values, 29% choose Cruz, 28% side with Trump and 15% favor Rubio. Cruz holds an edge as the one who would better handle social issues, however, with 29% to Trump's 18%, while 12% name Rubio, 10% Carson and 9% former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The poll comes days after former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced her endorsement of Trump. However, noted CNN, the sample size is not large enough to assess whether it made any difference in the race.