Donald Trump’s support among white evangelicals stands at 37 percent, rising 5 percentage points in one week, according to an NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll released early Tuesday.
The rise in evangelical support follows Trump’s reference to “Two Corinthians” at Liberty University earlier this month, a perceived stumble that rival Ted Cruz mocked on Monday.
Cruz, against whom Trump is running neck and neck in polls in Iowa ahead of ballots being cast Monday, stands at 20 percent, a 9-point drop since Jan. 17.
{mosads}Ben Carson now stands at 11 percent support among the key group, ticking down 1 point, while Marco Rubio gained 2 points, to 10 percent.
Trump is supported by 39 percent of Republican and GOP-leaning voters in the NBC poll, comparable to another poll from CNN released Tuesday finding him at 41 percent.
“I’m not surprised I’m doing very well with the evangelicals,” Trump said during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday morning, when he described himself as a religious person.
“I’ve had a great relationship with the people of Iowa. I’m doing really well with evangelicals,” Trump said on MSNBC. “I’m a religious person. I’ve been going to Sunday school for a long time. … Frankly, I’m a believer.”
The tracking survey was conducted Jan. 18–24 among a sample of 9,690 adults, including 8,215 who indicated they are registered to vote, with an overall margin of error of 1.3 points.
This report was updated at 8:08 a.m.