Cruz Said to Be Edging Closer to Trump in South Carolina; After Two States Vote, Trump Gains 17 Convention Delegates, Followed by Cruz With 11, Rubio With 10, Kasich With 5, Bush With 4, and Carson With 3

BALTIMORE, Maryland February 11, 2016 - It was reported today that Ted Cruz had pulled to within six (6) percentage points of Donald Trump in a poll of South Carolina voters.  Rush Limbaugh said he had received that information from Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard.  Limbaugh said that Kristol described his source as "very reliable," but was unwilling to identify him.  Nor did the source provide numbers associated with the poll, such as the number of people participating or whether the participants were "likely voters" or "Republicans" or some other descriptive tag.  Usually, when a poll is taken this close to an actual election, reliability is built upon the idea that those participating in the poll are at least likely to be voting.in the imminent South Carolina Primary.  That Primary is set for February 20.

No other poll has put Cruz so close to Trump in South Carolina. 

Cruz won the Iowa Caucuses, gaining 27.6% of the vote, while Trump posted a solid and impressive win in the New Hampshire Primary, gaining 35.3% of the vote, more than double the votes gained by his nearest competitor.  Ohio Governor John Kasich finished second in New Hampshire, with 15.8% of the vote, followed by Cruz at 11.7% and Jeb Bush with 11%.  Trump was a close second in Iowa, with 24.3% of the vote, followed by Marco Rubio with 23.1% and Ben Carson with 9.3%.  

Under the rules in effect in Iowa and New Hampshire, the award of delegates is as follows (with only candidates who have earned at least one delegate in either Iowa or New Hampshire being listed below).

1. Donald Trump: 7 delegates in Iowa, 10 in New Hampshire, for a total of 17.
2. Ted Cruz: 8 delegates in Iowa, 3 in New Hampshire, for a total of 11.
3. Marco Rubio: 7 delegates in Iowa, 3 in New Hampshire, for a total of 10.
4. John Kasich: 1 delegate in Iowa, 4 in New Hampshire, for a total of 5.
5. Jeb Bush: 1 delegate in Iowa, 3 in New Hampshire, for a total of 4.
6. Ben Carson: 3 delegates in Iowa, 0 in New Hampshire, for a total of 3.
7. (Tie)  Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, each with 1 delegate in Iowa and 0 in New Hampshire, for a total of 1.