Story Highlights Carson enjoys highest net favorability with all U.S. adults 
 
 Democrats view Carson more favorably than other GOP candidates 
 
 About as many blacks who know Carson like as dislike him 
 
 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Political novice Ben Carson retains his formidable edge in popularity over his Republican presidential rivals, with a net favorable score of +59 among Republicans nationwide. But Carson is popular not only with Republicans, he also has a net favorable score of +21 among national adults -- the highest of any candidate from either party. 
 
 The public gives other prominent presidential candidates either a lukewarm or an unfavorable reception, including Marco Rubio (+5), Jeb Bush (-2), Hillary Clinton (-6) and Donald Trump (-22). These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking from Oct. 19-Nov. 1, a period that spanned the third Republican debate. 
 
 But as might be expected for a first-time presidential candidate with a limited national profile prior to mounting a campaign, Carson is not as well-known as other candidates. Carson's overall "familiarity" score -- the total percentage of Americans with a favorable or unfavorable view of him -- is 63%, well behind Clinton (92%), Trump (90%) and Bush (76%). 
 
 While those candidates were already reasonably well-known as the race began, Carson was in no such position. For the period of July 8-21, when Gallup began regularly tracking presidential candidates, Carson's overall familiarity score among national adults was 36%. Few candidates who are still in the field were less well-known at that time, including Republicans John Kasich (29%) and Carly Fiorina (30%), and Democrat Martin O'Malley (22%). But Carson, at least partly aided by his debate performances, has seen the most growth on this measure. And he now is about as well-known as national political figures such as Rubio, Chris Christie and Ted Cruz. 
 
 Carson is well-known among Republicans; three in four are familiar with him. And of the three-quarters of Republicans who know him, only a sliver have an unfavorable view of him (8%). Republicans' nearly universal appreciation for Carson is an important reason for his robust popularity nationally. More than four in 10 (42%) U.S. adults identify as or lean Republican, meaning Carson receives high marks from about two-fifths of the country. 
 
 Although He Has a Net-Negative Image, Carson Rates Relatively Well Among Democrats 
 
 Carson records a -13 net favorable rating among Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, better than most of his Republican rivals and significantly better than the more widely known Rubio, Christie, Cruz, Mike Huckabee and especially Trump. At the same time, Carson is not very well-known among Democrats, leaving open the very real possibility that as more Democrats come to know him, they will dislike him, bringing down his net favorable. 
 
 Carson Unknown to Most Black Americans 
 
 As the sole black candidate running for president in either party, Carson is relatively popular with blacks compared with his GOP rivals. But given the heavy Democratic tilt of black adults, Carson will likely hit a low ceiling on his overall popularity score with this group. At a net favorable of -1, Carson is liked by about as many U.S. black adults as disliked, though the majority (52%) have no opinion of him. 
 
 Bottom Line 
 
 For the moment, Carson is the most popular major-party candidate -- and by a wide margin. While this fact might suggest Carson has a rare bipartisan appeal that the other presidential candidates lack, his popularity is chiefly driven by his extremely positive image among Republicans. Democrats who have an opinion of Carson see him in less negative terms than they see other Republican candidates, but ultimately, about four in 10 Democrats -- a group prone to view any GOP candidate unfavorably because of that candidate's politics -- do not currently know Carson. 
 
 And that is the situation Carson faces. He enjoys a high familiarity rating among Republicans, but if he is to become a better-known figure nationally, he will have to "introduce" himself to Democrats. If normal political forces prevail, though, it is likely that expanded familiarity will come at the cost of lower popularity. If more Democrats do come to know him -- even if they decide they don't like him -- it is a sign that his once-improbable campaign is becoming much less so. 
 
 Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics. 
 
 Survey Methods 
 
 Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 19-Nov. 1, 2015, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 7,121 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Each candidate was rated by a random subset of respondents during this period, with the sample sizes rating each candidate ranging from 1,884 to 2,014. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. 
 
 For results based on the total sample of 3,180 of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, aged 18 and older, with about 800 adults, on average, rating each candidate, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. 
 
 For results based on the total sample of 2,900 of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, aged 18 and older, with about 800 adults, on average, rating each candidate, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. 
 
 For results based on the total sample of 685 black adults, aged 18 and older, with about 200 adults, on average, rating each candidate, the margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting. 
 
 Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. 
 
 Learn more about how Gallup Daily tracking works. 

 Verse (Click for Chapter) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 By Erica Brown and Ellen Uchimiya 
 
 NAPLES, Florida -- Ben Carson stood by his long-held belief about ancient pyramids in Egypt, that they were used to store grain, rather than to inter pharaohs. 
 
 Asked about this Wednesday, Carson told CBS News, "It's still my belief, yes." 
 
 The subject came up when Buzzfeed published a 1998 commencement speech delivered by Carson at Andrews University, a college founded by Seventh-day Adventists. 
 
 "My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain," Carson said. "Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs' graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don't think it'd just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain." 
 
 In the same speech, he went on to say, "[W]hen you look at the way that the pyramids are made, with many chambers that are hermetically sealed, they'd have to be that way for various reasons. And various of scientists have said, 'Well, you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge and that's how--' you know, it doesn't require an alien being when God is with you." 
 
 Carson reiterated to CBS News that "the pyramids were made in a way that they had hermetically sealed compartments....You would need that if you were trying to preserve grain for a long period of time." 
 
 What Carson has in mind here is the seven years of plenty in Egypt, referred to in Genesis, when "Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure." In the Bible, Joseph fed Egypt and the rest of the world during the seven years of drought that followed. 

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– While some candidates may flip-flop on the issues, Ben Carson—now the most-liked candidate of both parties, per the latest Gallup poll—is steadfast when it comes to one particular puzzle: the Egyptian pyramids. Back in 1998, the good doctor gave a commencement address at Andrews University, a school tied to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and while he shot down the theory that aliens built the ancient structures, he floated another interesting conjecture instead, per a video that surfaced via BuzzFeed Wednesday. "My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain," Carson said during his speech. "Now all the archaeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs' graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it." Coupled with the fact of the pyramids' "many chambers that are hermetically sealed," Carson said that that "something big" would had to have been grain storage units. That would back up the Old Testament story in which Joseph has a vision of a coming famine and advises the Egyptian pharaoh to build storage facilities for grain, BuzzFeed notes. "Various … scientists have said, ‘Well, you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge and that's how," Carson said at the time. "You know, it doesn't require an alien being when God is with you." But that was 17 years ago. Carson's thoughts on the matter certainly have evolved since—or maybe not. "It's still my belief, yes," he told CBS News Wednesday. (Maybe Trump will bring up the pyramids on SNL this Saturday.)