A CBS/YouGov poll released this weekend shows that in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina the alternative to Trump is Ben Carson. Not one senator or governor is within meaningful shouting distance:
As for the Democrats, Bernie Sanders is now ahead of Hillary in Iowa and New Hampshire. While Hillary leads in South Carolina, a lead that large won’t hold if she loses the first two:
Again, it’s early. We’ve had one Republican debate, and there have been exactly zero Democratic debates. But the days and weeks are ticking by without a single Republican politician catching fire. Indeed, the opposite has happened. Soon enough, it won’t be “early” anymore, and Trump, Carson, or both will likely still be at or near the top of the polls. We could be in for one of the more memorable political races in recent American history.