THERE IS A NEW KING IN TOWN, AND THE KING IS TED CRUZ

There is a new king in town, and the king is Ted Cruz.

The Texas senator raced past the field to take first place for the first time in the 16th week of our GOP Power Rankings, in which we ask 30 smart political types who is the strongest Republican presidential candidate.

Donald Trump appeared to be in command a week ago on the heels of the San Bernardino shooting, but the turn toward Cruz was swift and decisive. A week ago, Trump received 20 first-place votes from our panel and Cruz got three. This week, on the strength of great poll numbers in Iowa, Cruz took 17 first-place votes and Trump took only 9. Marco Rubio got the remaining first-place ballots.

Of course, the irony is that in a new national poll Monday, Trump showed his largest lead of the election cycle. But our experts say Cruz is now better positioned in the critical early-voting states.

The other major movement in our Power Rankings this week: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie surges to fourth place, the highest he has ever placed in our survey.

"Ted Cruz surges to the top in the Des Moines Register poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers and gains momentum in national polls," said Iowa State University's Dianne Bystrom. "Chris Christie regains the main debate stage for (Tuesday) night and is a contender in New Hampshire. Trump is still holding strong, especially in the 'SEC' primary states. Ben Carson continuing to fall."

"Cruz's rapid — if slightly early — ascent signals consolidation in the evangelical/social wing of the party," said Republican digital consultant Phil Musser. "That's important and will power him to the final four. Christie's well-timed New Hampshire surge could make him the last governor in the race if it continues. That status is a ticket to the final four." offers a year-end opportunity for the lower-tier candidates to try to break out, but their path to victory looks grimmer by the day.

"Ben Carson is starting to fall off the map," said New Hampshire Democrat Kathy Sullivan. "Rubio's boomlet gives way to Cruz's boomlet; it will be interesting to see how they interact in debate."

"With Cruz on the move and threatening Trump, the next debate should be must-watch television once again," said political analyst Nathan Gonzales. "If Trump slips further in the polls, I wouldn't be surprised if he claims victory, drops out, and says he didn't really want to be president anyway."

And then there is Jeb Bush, who has never broken onto the top three in our Power Rankings. None of the prior debates have given him a significant bounce, so it is hard to have great expectations for the next one. But former congressman Dan Maffei said, "I've decided to move Bush up this week since so much of the establishment is still behind him and, while he will lose all of the early primaries, the later winner-take-all states might give him a real chance if the wealthy wing of the party is willing to put serious money down on disqualifying Cruz and Rubio."

The las Vegas debate also arrives at a time when Americans appear surprisingly engaged in the presidential race.

"Campaign conversation is heating up on Twitter," said Adam Sharp, who knows because he works there. "Reaction to Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration, Cruz’s movement in Iowa, and more broadly, national security issues in the wake of the San Bernardino attack, made (last week) the most-Tweeted non-debate week of the campaign so far."

WEEK 16 RANKINGS

1. Ted Cruz (Last week: 2)

2. Donald Trump (1)

3. Marco Rubio (3)

4. Chris Christie (5)

T-5. Ben Carson (4)

T-5. Jeb Bush (6)

7. John Kasich (7)

8. Carly Fiorina (8)

9. Rand Paul (9)

10. Mike Huckabee (10)

11. Lindsey Graham (11)

12. Rick Santorum (12)

13. George Pataki (13)

14. Jim Gilmore (14)