Trump Maintains Lead as Carson Gains

A new NBC News/Survey Monkey poll finds Donald Trump leading the GOP race for president with 28%, followed by Ben Carson at 23%, Marco Rubio at 9%, Carly Fiorina at 6%, Ted Cruz at 6% and Jeb Bush at 5%.

Key findings: “Helping to shore up Carson’s level of support are white evangelical Republican voters (including independents who lean Republican). Carson, a Seventh-Day Adventist, is now supported by 33% of white evangelicals, up from 20% in September, and outpacing Trump among evangelicals by 10 points. This is an essential voting bloc in the early caucus state of Iowa, where white evangelicals made up 56% of Republican caucus voters in 2012.”