Republican Front-Runners Hold Tight After Final 2015 Debate

The last Republican presidential debate of 2015 solidified the top candidate spots, analysts and voters agree, with Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz benefitting from their exchanges on immigration policy. The debate, hosted by CNN and Salem Media Group, was seen as a way for the front-runners to solidify their positions, alongside Donald Trump, who maintained his lead. Despite the back-and-forth between Rubio and Cruz, the debate did not seem to hurt their chances in Iowa, with some voters viewing it as a way to strengthen their positions.

Key Takeaways:

• Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz benefited from their exchanges on immigration policy at the final 2015 Republican presidential debate.
• Rubio's affiliation with the Gang of Eight, a group of senators that tried to pass a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013, was brought up by Cruz.
• Cruz surpassed Trump, who was the first choice of 21% of Republican likely caucus-goers in a Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa poll released December 12.
• Pottawattamie County Republican head Jeff Jorgensen said Trump was the winner for voters in his county, followed by Rubio and then Cruz.
• According to a Monmouth University Poll national poll released Monday, Trump is leading with 41% for Republican voters, followed by Cruz with 14% and Rubio with 10%.
• Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush went after each other the most, with Bush calling Trump a "chaos candidate" and Trump saying that Bush is running a failing campaign.
• The debate's latter half saw the gloves come off, foreshadowing what the coming weeks will look like before the February 1 caucuses.

Statistics:

• 31% of Republican likely caucus-goers in Iowa chose Cruz in a December 12 poll (Bloomber Politics/Des Moines Register).
• 21% of Republican likely caucus-goers in Iowa chose Trump in a December 12 poll (Bloomber Politics/Des Moines Register).
• 13% of Republican likely caucus-goers in Iowa chose Carson in a December 12 poll (Bloomber Politics/Des Moines Register).
• 10% of Republican likely caucus-goers in Iowa chose Rubio in a December 12 poll (Bloomber Politics/Des Moines Register).
• 41% of Republicans in a national poll chose Trump (Monmouth University Poll).
• 14% of Republicans in a national poll chose Cruz (Monmouth University Poll).
• 10% of Republicans in a national poll chose Rubio (Monmouth University Poll).
• Margin of error for Iowa poll: ±4.9 percentage points.
• Margin of error for national poll: ±5 percentage points.

Sources:

• Rebecca MorinA, "GOP front-runners hold tight The last Republican presidential debate of 2015 solidified the top candidate spots, analysts and voters say," UIowa.edu, no date specified.
• David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, no date specified.
• Shane Vander Hart, founder of Caffeinated Thoughts, a Christian conservative news blog based in Des Moines, no date specified.
• Jeff Jorgensen, Pottawattamie County Republican head, no date specified.
• Monmouth University Poll, "Results from the Monmouth University Poll, 12/10-13/15," no date specified.
• Pottawattamie County Republican head Jeff Jorgensen, no date specified.