SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Hours after terrorists attacked a hotel in Mali and a week after Islamic State fighters struck Paris, Ted Cruz took the floor here to deliver a harsh critique of President Barack Obama’s Middle East posture and pledge a hard-line approach to Syrian Muslim refugees.

It was exactly what this crowd of mostly conservative Christians wanted — and an ominous sign for Iowa’s weakened front-runner, Ben Carson.

Across the state and at a major gathering of politically active evangelicals on Friday night, foreign policy was top-of-mind for the voters and state lawmakers once considered natural constituents for Carson. But after a week of confused comments from the retired neurosurgeon and a dismissive critique by his own advisers, Iowans are now consistently voicing doubt about Carson’s credentials to be commander in chief.

Indeed, they said the terrorist attacks have reordered the candidates in their mind, lifting Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio and, for many, making Carson an afterthought.

“He’s a great guy, he’s fun to listen to, but I didn’t hear anything substantive,” said Alan Hilgerson, a Des Moines-based physician who said national security is an “extremely high” priority for him as he considers the 2016 contenders vying for Iowa. Of Carson, he continued, “I don’t know that I’d want him as my president.”

Read the article “Carson Loses His Hold on Iowa’s Conservatives” on politico.com.