What is GOP looking for in 2016?

(CNN) – When it comes to the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, a few big names might come to mind: Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Rand Paul.

How about Ben Carson?

Carson, the non-politician, former Fox News commentator, is on everyone's radar after two new CNN/ORC polls placed the conservative neurosurgeon second as Republicans' 2016 nominee choice.

The first poll shows Carson running behind only Mitt Romney, a man who still contends he is not running for president. And while Carson was only at 10 per cent – to Romney's 20 – he still came in ahead of all those other big names.

So let's take Romney out of the mix, he says he's not running anyway, and Carson comes in second again, this time to Jeb Bush, trailing the former Florida governor by only three percentage points.

Yes, it is early and these poll numbers will change a lot in coming months, but how seriously are Republican officials taking Carson?

The National Review's Jim Geraghty, Media Matters's Karen Finney, and CNN's Brianna Keilar discuss.