WaPo
The big takeaway from this new poll of the Iowa GOP caucuses -- from Monmouth University -- is that Ben Carson has  drawn even with Donald Trump, at 23 percent. And it comes a couple days after another poll showed Carson closing to within five.

That in and of itself is remarkable. Trump's rise was already unbelievable; Carson's is equally so. What's even more amazing, though: The third-place candidate in this new poll is businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who like Trump and Carson has never held public office. In fact, they are the only three hopefuls in the GOP field who can say that, and they are 1-2-3.

In fourth place? Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who perhaps more than anybody embodies the outsider mentality from within the U.S. Senate.

The combined vote total of those four candidates? 65 percent.

The combined vote total for Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, John Kasich and Bobby Jindal -- who all come from more establishment-oriented backgrounds and the first four of whom have at times been considered GOP front-runners -- is 22 percent.

And while the split is more pronounced in favor of outsiders in this poll, it's not a new phenomenon. The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll over the weekend showed the four outsiders getting 54 percent of the vote, compared to the latter sextet's 26 percent. That's still more than two-to-one.

Monmouth Poll
Only 12% of likely Republican caucusgoers say they are completely decided on which candidate they will support in February. Another 42% have a strong preference now but are willing to consider other candidates... Among voters who say their current decision is strongly locked in, Trump leads with 30%, compared to 22% for Carson. Among those who say they only have a slight preference or are up in the air, 25% support Carson and 16% back Trump.

Iowa GOP caucus goers say that, regardless of who they support in the primary, the country needs a president from outside of government who can bring a new approach to Washington (66%) rather than someone with government experience who knows how to get things done (23%). Among those who prefer an outsider, more than two-thirds are backing one of the three candidates who have never held elected office – Trump (32%), Carson (26%), or Fiorina (13%). However, even among those who say the country needs someone with government experience, 30% are currently supporting one of these three candidates.

The Monmouth University Poll was sponsored and conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute from August 27 to 30, 2015 with a statewide random sample of 405 Iowa voters drawn from a list of registered Republican voters who voted in at least one of the last two state primary elections and indicate they are likely to attend the Republican presidential caucuses in February 2016.

Quoted:
Carson is the candidate for those who still care whether people call them racist or not.

Quoted:
Carson is the candidate for those who still care whether people call them racist or not.

Quoted:
Carson is the candidate for those who still care whether people call them racist or not.

Quoted:
You only like Rand Paul because he is short.

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I'm ready for a Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina ticket. Would put that sign in my yard today.