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At 27 percent, nationally Donald Trump maintains his frontrunner status among Republican primary voters, but Ben Carson is now closely behind him. Carson’s support has risen significantly since early August, when he polled at six percent. Carson is now at 23 percent, putting him in second place.

Pollsters: Don’t trust us to winnow GOP field

Pollsters surveyed by POLITICO have a unanimous warning for the Republican National Committee and the TV networks who are using public-opinion surveys to exclude presidential candidates from debates: Don’t trust polls to detect often-tiny grades of opinion in a giant field.

How the GOP gets to the final four

With the Governors Club members Scott Walker and Rick Perry gone, the bloated Republican presidential field is showing the inevitable signs of radical shrinkage by year’s end, with donors’ reluctance to bet on long shots.

Poll: Carson ties Trump, Biden draws from Clinton

As Vice President Joe Biden considers a potential presidential campaign, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday shows a Biden candidacy would draw support away from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Third GOP debate sets off wave of anxiety

The uncertain terms of the next Republican debate are setting off a wave of anxiety among middle and bottom tier campaigns, with several lashing out at the Republican National Committee for failing to provide clarity on how many candidates will appear on stage.

The polls get most of the attention, but they’re not the most important part of the early stages of a presidential campaign. The better guide to who’s really winning is known as the “invisible primary,” in which candidates compete for support from their fellow politicians, from party leaders and from donors.

After facing attacks in two debates and dealing with controversies almost daily, business executive Donald Trump has maintained a big lead in New Hampshire, while the rest of the Republican presidential field has been shaken up over the past two months.