Mr. Simon is mulling the potential of a Trump/Carson presidential ticket, and is convinced that Mr. Trump could very well leave the physician off his attack list.

“There’s one thing I can predict. Ben Carson is one person Donald Trump will not come after, even if Carson continues to rise in the polls. You don’t attack soulful pediatric neurosurgeons raised by single mothers without risking substantial blowback. Now, a Trump-Carson ticket. That’s another matter. There’s something to contemplate. Whoever would have dreamed that one up even a year ago?” Mr. Simon said.

Something could be percolating. Breitbart News now says that GOP “outsiders” are surging, and other news organizations seem to agree. A new CNN/ORC poll finds Mr. Trump in the lead among those always-discerning Iowa Republican voters, with Mr. Carson in second place. When voters were asked which of the 17 Republican candidates represented their values, the doctor was in first place, followed by the billionaire.