New Iowa Poll Shows Ted Cruz and Donald Trump In Tight Battle

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump flashes thumbs up after an address to a group of supporters at a campaign stop at the Flynn Center of the Performing Arts in Burlington, Vt., Jan. 7, 2016. (Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

(ABC News) — Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are locked in a tight battle for the lead in Iowa, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Real estate mogul Donald Trump earns 31 percent support in the poll. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has 29 percent support, within the poll’s margin of error. Third place belongs to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with 15 percent. Ben Carson has tumbled from his previous lead down to only 7 percent. Other candidates have 4 percent or less support.

Trump leads national polls by a wide margin. He also leads in New Hampshire by double digits over a splintered field of establishment candidates.