A new Iowa poll shows that Ben Carson ties with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the race for the 2016 presidential nomination.

The survey from Monmouth University shows that both Donald Trump and Ben Carson have tied with 23 percent of support among polled Iowans, ahead of Carly Fiorina, Senator Ted Cruz, and Governor Scott Walker.

Gov. Mike Huckabee and Senator Rick Santorum, both of whom were major stars in the state of Iowa, have seen a significant drop in support, which indicates Iowans are looking at less traditional candidates, considering that the top three (Trump, Carson, and Fiorina) have held no previous public office.

"After more than a month of Trump winning virtually every Republican demographic group, we’ve finally got a little variation in voting blocs to talk about," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The new poll represents the first time Donald Trump has ever been challenged by his surging poll numbers. Dr. Ben Carson has resonated mostly with people who identify as "very conservative" among evangelical Christians and women.

Monmouth polled a total 405 Republicans with a sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.