A retired neurosurgeon has knocked Donald Trump off top spot in the Republican presidential campaign, according to a new national poll in the US.
In the New York Times/CBS News poll, Ben Carson received 26% of the votes - compared to 22% for Mr Trump, who has led the pack for nearly four months.
The poll shows the two frontrunners far ahead of the other candidates - Marco Rubio is in third place with 8% of the vote, with Jeb Bush on 7%.
CBS explains that "Carson has made gains across many key Republican groups. In a reversal from earlier this month, he is now ahead of Trump among women and is running neck and neck with him among men. Carson's support among evangelicals has risen and he now leads Trump by more than 20 points with this group".
The report adds that Carson has found support among conservative and 'Tea Party' Republicans, while Trump enjoys more support from moderates.
However they also sound a note of caution, pointing out that 7 out of 10 Republican primary voters say it is too early to make up their mind on supporting a candidate.
Opinion polls in Iowa last week also indicated that Donald Trump is beginning to lose some ground in his campaign to claim the Republican presidential nomination.
The latest poll is released a day ahead of the third television debate for the Republican contenders. It takes place in Boulder, Colorado tomorrow night.
