Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), is now the second favorite Republican candidate, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released on Monday.
Fiorina rose 12 points compared to a poll conducted earlier this month, putting her at 15% support. Donald Trump is still in first place with 24%, but has dropped 8 points from the earlier poll.
These numbers are likely a result of the second Republican debate that took place on Wednesday and a strong performance by Fiorina. She seemed to win favor by calling out Trump for his personal attacks and for her impassioned criticism of Planned Parenthood. The poll states that 52% of Republican voters chose Fiorina as the winner of the debate, and 31% identified Trump as the loser.
Ben Carson, who was in the spotlight for being the second place candidate earlier this month with 19% support, has fallen to third place just behind Fiorina with 14%. None of the three leading candidates have any political experience. The most supported political veteran is Florida senator Marco Rubio with 11%.
Scott Walker has fallen to less than 1% support, which is particularly shocking considering he held a fairly comfortable lead in Iowa polls early on.
