Ben Carson expects to beat Marco Rubio in Iowa tonight — for third place

As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz prepare to battle it out for the top spot in Iowa Monday evening, the rest of the candidates are setting their sights a little lower, for the consolation prize of third place. Ben Carson — who currently lags at fourth in the polls behind Marco Rubio — says he's still aiming for a spot on the podium, even if it is only for bronze. It's a long-shot goal: Carson holds 7.7 percent of support according to RealClearPolitics, with Rubio far ahead at 16.9 percent.

Asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday if he would snag third place in the caucus, Carson replied, "I think there's a very strong chance of that, absolutely. From what I've been seeing, from what I've been hearing, every place I go people say I'm caucusing for you. And even when I stop in in places that are not on the schedule, a bunch of people come up and say that. So it makes me think that maybe there are more people than we're thinking."

Indeed, historically polls have been a little iffy on correctly predicting winners out of Iowa, as The Washington Examiner notes. On the other hand, Carson's campaign has lost much of its momentum following a brief surge early in the season.

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Caucusing begins at 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. Eastern.