CBS/NYT national: Trump 27% Carson 21% Cruz 9%; Clinton 46% Sanders 27%

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Has to worry the GOP that their top 3 candidates are not electable.

Even though Carson does better than the rest of the field in general election head-to-heads?

Again - this is at a time when the GOP base is excited. Head to heads don't matter at this point.

[Minnesota Mike]

Has to worry the GOP that their top 3 candidates are not electable.

Even though Carson does better than the rest of the field in general election head-to-heads?

At this point in a campaign I will trust my gut over general election polls. Wait until someone goes negative on Carson for all the crazy sh**t he has said.

[socaldem]

A couple more key tidbits that are positive for candidates from the second choice data in the poll:
             
                     Oct.    Sept.
Ben Carson     20       19
Marco Rubio    18         7
Carly Fiorina    13         6
Donald Trump  11       12
Jeb Bush            7         9
Ted Cruz            6        12
Mike Huckabee   6          4
Chris Christie     5          4
Rand Paul          2          3
Lindsey Graham 1         *
John Kasich        1         2

Good News

Ben Carson - Though his support decreased marginally, he still has sky-high favorables and is the second choice of 20% of voters. I wonder how many of these are Trump voters

Marco Rubio - Though he has only 8% support as a first choice, he has a solid 18% naming him as second choice. This is an 11% jump from September. I wonder who these folks are--the math suggests that at least some of them must be Trump/Carson folks. This data also suggests that while he has made a positive impression thus far, in order for him to succeed, some people need to be taken out.

Carly Fiorina - A solid 13% select her as their number 2 choice.

Graham - He may have 0 first choice support but he's the runner up for a solid 1%! Grahmentum!

Bad News

Ted Cruz - His second choice support dropped in half from 12 --> 6 percent. This is a bad sign for him as his strategy is to pick up the support when Trump/Carson implode.  But it seems like those voters are looking elsewhere...

John Kasich - Dude, you're toast and going the way of Scott Walker very soon. You're not even anyone's second choice. Rubio and Carly stole your thunder.

The Establishment - Establishment candidates have less than 20% first choice support. If everyone dropped out except Trump, Carson, Rubio, the chances are that Rubio would be in THIRD place of the three candidates. And I don't think mainstream-friendly candidates like Bush and Carly are ready to hang up their spurs anytime soon.

[SillyAmerican]

Has to worry the GOP that their top 3 candidates are not electable.

Actually, what's truly worrisome is that the top 3 Republican candidates and the top 2 Democratic candidates are all not electable. (Socialism is not as popular as many might think, and the FBI may have something to say about certain folks who have been cavalier with sensitive government information...).

[Torie]

It is getting increasingly humorous watching people insist that Trump and Carson will both fade before Iowa because reasons.

Favorability with the general electorate:

Carson 34/22
Trump 28/53
Rubio 27/25
Fiorina 26/21
Jeb! 20/48

One would think that at some point as time goes on, Pubs with a brain might ponder that number in bold.

[Mr. Morden]

It is getting increasingly humorous watching people insist that Trump and Carson will both fade before Iowa because reasons.

Favorability with the general electorate:

Carson 34/22
Trump 28/53
Rubio 27/25
Fiorina 26/21
Jeb! 20/48

One would think that at some point as time goes on, Pubs with a brain might ponder that number in bold.

Well, if you want to go strictly by those favorability #s, Pubs with a brain would pick the guy who operated on brains.

[The Mikado]

It is getting increasingly humorous watching people insist that Trump and Carson will both fade before Iowa because reasons.

Favorability with the general electorate:

Carson 34/22
Trump 28/53
Rubio 27/25
Fiorina 26/21
Jeb! 20/48

One would think that at some point as time goes on, Pubs with a brain might ponder that number in bold.

Yes, Trump has -25 favorables. Jeb! has -28.