Carly Fiorina Surges to 2nd Place in Poll, Trump; Carson See Support Drop

Carly Fiorina has pushed to 2nd place in the crowded Republican presidential field following a strong performance in the second GOP debate.

That is according to a new national CNN/ORC poll. The top three contenders underscore a key theme in the 2016 race: In a jam-packed GOP presidential field, the leading candidates are the only ones who have never held political office.

Rand Paul wins straw poll

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is the favored presidential candidate among Republicans attending a major political event in Michigan. Paul got the biggest percentage of votes cast, 22 percent, in the unscientific straw poll released Saturday night at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference.

The survey was conducted by The Detroit News and MIRSnews.com. It is done mostly for fun and could be a weak predictor of candidate success in the March primary election. Of the 2,200 conference registrants, 785, or about one-third, participated in the straw poll.

Fiorina took 15 percent of votes cast, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich at nearly 14 percent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 13 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at nearly 10 percent. The top five vote-getters among the 16 candidates on the ballot are the five who attended the conference on picturesque Mackinac Island in northern Michigan.

Agencies/Canadajournal