Even though Donald Trump claimed victory after the first GOP debate based on internet polls, many experts said to wait until more scientific polling numbers were released to make a definitive judgment. And now we know why. An NBC poll was released and it paints a completely different picture.

In terms of which candidates helped themselves the most, the winners were Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina. Cruz rose from 6% to 13%, while Fiorina climbed from 2% to 8%.

Those surveyed pointed to three candidates doing the best work during the debates: Fiorina (20% net score), Marco Rubio (12%) and Cruz (11%).

The news wasn’t all bad for Trump. At 23% of the vote, he’s still leading the way overall (Cruz is now second at the aforementioned 13%). Additionally, 18% of those surveyed believed he did the best job in the debate. Unfortunately for The Donald, 29% thought he did the worst job, which gave up an ugly net score of -11%.

The other candidate who should be happy with these polling numbers is Dr. Ben Carson. He rose from 8% to 11% overall, which is third place behind Trump and Cruz. Additionally, he tallied a net score of 7% in the debate.

Who do you think won the first GOP debate last Thursday night? Vote in our poll and let us know!

Click through the gallery below to see where many of the other GOP candidates stand on the issues Americans care about.

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Donald Trump





Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images Learn more about where Donald Trump stands on the issues.Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

Ben Carson





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Ted Cruz





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Marco Rubio





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Scott Walker





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Jeb Bush





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Rand Paul





Photo by Gerry Hanan/Getty Images for SXSW Learn more about where Rand Paul stands on the issues.Photo by Gerry Hanan/Getty Images for SXSW

Mike Huckabee





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Carly Fiorina