LATEST POLL – AT 11:22 A.M. ET:  The latest CBS News/Battleground Tracker poll, as reported in The Hill, shows a split situation in the GOP primaries:

Donald Trump enjoys a comfortable lead in New Hampshire, according to a CBS News Battleground Tracker poll released Sunday morning that also shows Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) holding the top spot in Iowa.

Trump has 32 percent support in New Hampshire, followed by Cruz with 14 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with 13 percent and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 11 percent.

Christie had just 5 percent support in the Granite State last month, CBS noted.

Cruz holds a 9-point lead over Trump in Iowa, 40 to 31 percent, pollsters found. Rubio holds third place with 12 percent. Evangelicals have boosted Cruz, the network said, as have former backers of Ben Carson, who has slipped to fourth place in Iowa with 6 percent.

Cruz easily tops Trump among respondents in Iowa who say “faith and religion” matters more than terrorism and the economy, CBS added.

Trump also holds a 15-point lead over Cruz in the early voting state of South Carolina, according to the poll.

COMMENT:  The fact is that neither Iowa nor New Hampshire have been particularly accurate predictors of the ultimate nomination winner.  The key question, it seems to me, is whether Trump can be sufficiently wounded in early primaries to freeze his position and allow others to climb.  Whether those others climb may well depend on low-ranking candidates dropping out and permitting a true race among four or so survivors, where voters can actually concentrate on individuals.

December 20, 2015