Suffolk University’s post-debate Iowa survey found that Donald Trump was polling in first place at 17 percent. Unsurprisingly, however, CNN/ORC’s latest offering wasn't much different:
Trump captures 22 percent of the total vote, thereby edging Ben Carson and Scott Walker (who finished in second and third place, respectively) by solid margins. But perhaps The Donald — and his devoted fan base — shouldn't start celebrating just yet:
Exactly two-thirds of respondents are "still trying" to figure out which candidate to support in 2016. Meanwhile, a whopping 19 percent are "leaning towards someone" — but are undecided and therefore still making up their minds. Yet after Trump’s middling debate performance, and his controversial comments about Megyn Kelly, why do Iowans like him so much?
These three graphs from the survey may provide some answers:
Bottom line: A plurality of respondents likely support Donald Trump because they view him as an independently wealthy, job creating businessman (from outside the political class) who can best deal with the perennial problems of high unemployment and illegal immigration. Not surprisingly, this perception has been a major driver of his early polling success.