Frank Cannon is president of the American Principles Project and a respected conservative political strategist with over 30 years of experience.

Iowa’s a much better state for Carson than any of the earlier states because of the preponderance of Christian conservatives.  What’s interesting to me is that the proportion of the vote for the ‘outsiders,’ Trump and Carson particularly, has not switched.  What has switched is which outsider is preferred in Iowa.  And at this point, it’s Carson.  But in South Carolina, in Nevada, in New Hampshire, Trump continues to be very strong.  And while this is important for Carson because it gives him an early potential win and the potential for creating momentum, it’s, I think, more of a reflection of how the vote is being carved up among the outsiders without anybody really moving in to actual contention from among the establishment candidates.