Dr. Ben Carson overtook Donald Trump in Iowa for the first time in a new Quinnipiac Republican presidential poll released on Thursday.
The former neurosurgeon earned 28 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 20 percent. This marks the first time Trump has fallen from first place in Iowa in months.
Senator Marco Rubio ranked third with 13 percent; Ted Cruz followed at 11 percent; Senator Rand Paul pulled 6 percent; and Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina tied at 5 percent.
In the last Quinnipiac poll from September, Trump led with 27 percent to Carson’s 21 percent. Carson’s rise to first place ahead of the crucial Iowa caucuses comes after weeks of controversial statements that sprung the mild-mannered candidate into the headlines.
Carson has declared that he does not want a Muslim to serve as president; that the Holocaust could’ve been prevented if Jews were armed; and suggested that victims of mass shootings should lunge at the shooter instead of waiting to be shot.
The Iowa caucuses take place on Feb. 1, 2016.