Soft-spoken Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, who surreptitiously leapt well-known counterparts in numerous national polls conducted this month, sits within four percentage points of front-runner Donald Trump in a New York Times/ CBS News poll released Tuesday.
Support for Carson rose by 17 percent following August's Fox News presidential debate, compared to Trump's modest three percent rise over the same time period. Trump still holds a 27-24-percent lead over the retired neurosurgeon, but Carson gained favor across all demographic groups, most notably among college-educated GOP voters.
Carson and Trump have tossed lukewarm comments at one another during the last two weeks, first by Carson scolding his immigration plan then by questioning the real estate mogul's faith. Carson apologized this week, telling Fox News "There is no reason ever to question anybody's faith. That's something between them and God."
News of Carson's considerable jump comes one day before Republicans assemble for the Party's second primary debate in as many months.
Pollsters found that support for early-favorites like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio fell into single digits - at six percent - alongside former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for third place. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker saw the biggest drop from the last New York Times/ CBS News poll, falling to 10th place with just two percent.
Carly Fiorina garnered support from four percent of voters and consistently drawing less than one percent throughout the summer. The former Hewlett Packard CEO may attribute some support both to her inclusion in Wednesday night's debate and her tenacious response to Trump's comments about her appearance.