US Republican contenders Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are enjoying more support as front-runner Donald Trump sees his fan base shrink, the first national poll after the Iowa caucuses has found.
The Democratic firm Public Policy Polling survey which was to be released later on Thursday, found that 25 percent of the Republican-primary voters were still supporting Trump while Rubio and Cruz both ranked in second at 21 percent.
Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson was third at 11 percent, while none of the remaining Republican candidates took more than 5 percent of the vote.
This marks a stark drop for Trump from the national survey by the same firm conducted in mid-December which found the real-estate mogul cruising ahead of the competition at 34 percent, while Cruz and Rubio trailed behind him with 18 and 13 percent respectively.
The billionaire businessman’s campaign suffered a heavy blow earlier this week, when he lost the Iowa caucuses to Cruz and grabbed only enough votes to top Rubio with a 1 percent margin.
The poll was specially important as the candidates are barreling toward New Hampshire, which will hold the election's first primary on Tuesday.
Rubio jumps to second in New Hampshire
Meanwhile, a separate poll has found Senator Rubio of Florida vaulting to the second place in New Hampshire after his stronger-than-expected finish in Iowa.
According to the WHDH/UMass Lowell daily tracking poll, Trump leads the GOP field in New Hampshire with 36 percent support while Rubio follows him with 15 percent.
Cruz was third with 14 percent, followed by former Florida governor Jeb Bush with 8 and Ohio Governor John Kasich with 7 percent support.