WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, the soft-spoken former neurosurgeon, is running nearly even with Donald Trump, according to a national poll released Tuesday.
In the CBS/New York Times survey, 27 percent of Republicans surveyed picked Trump for their presidential choice, and 23 percent chose Carson — within the poll’s 6-point margin of error.
That’s a dramatic rise for Carson, who in July registered just 6 percent in the same poll. He has nearly quadrupled his support with a steady summer.
Trump also made gains, but not as dramatic — 24 percent in July to 27 percent now. Combined, the two nonpoliticians have amassed half of the Republican electorate.
Meanwhile, the same poll shows a softening of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders. She has slumped some 20 points since August and now leads him, 47 percent to 27 percent, for the Democratic nod.
Also troubling for her, she has suffered a 7-point drop among women, and 60 percent of Democrats now want to see Joe Biden enter the race.