Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor who has been relegated to the undercard debate throughout the GOP presidential race, has edged out former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a new poll of Iowa.
Jindal scored 6 percent support in the survey from Public Policy Polling (PPP), one percentage point ahead of Bush, though within the poll’s 3.9 percent margin of error.
{mosads}Still, the uptick for Jindal is broadly indicative of just how far Bush has fallen — something that has been exacerbated by his poor showing in last week’s Republican debate.
Bush’s team has repeatedly brushed aside concerns about the candidate’s poll numbers, noting that there are still three months to go until the Iowa caucuses.
From the start of the campaign, Bush was never expected to fare well in Iowa, and the data from the liberal-leaning PPP indicates he faces an uphill climb there.
The poll found that Bush has the highest unfavorable rating of any Republican candidate in Iowa, with 30 percent viewing him positively and 43 percent viewing him negatively.
Jindal’s 60 percent favorability rating, meanwhile, is tied for third highest in the state behind retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Jindal’s campaign has long trumpeted his chances in the Hawkeye State, arguing that his Christian conservative positions and record in the Louisiana governor’s mansion would resonate with the state’s voters. Jindal’s team has pushed networks to use early-state polling to determine debate placement, which could elevate him to the main stage.
Donald Trump and Ben Carson held the top two spots in the PPP poll, with 22 percent and 21 percent support respectively, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at 15 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) at 10 percent. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) tied with Jindal for fifth with 6 percent support.
The poll is the second released Monday to show Cruz pulling into the third spot in Iowa.
The survey of 638 “usual Republican primary voters” was conducted from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.