Likely driven by MAGA support for him as he faces the threat of a hush money indictment, former President Donald Trump has jumped out to his biggest 2024 GOP primary lead in a widely followed survey.
In the latest Morning Consult survey, Trump leads Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) 54% to 26%, a 28-point advantage.
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According to the analysis, “As Trump awaits potential indictment on charges related to a 2016 hush money scheme with adult-film star Stormy Daniels, he has posted one of his largest polling leads in the 2024 Republican primary. The latest survey shows 54% of potential primary voters support the former president, compared with 26% who are backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tying his expected opponent’s lowest level of support since tracking began in December.”
2024 Republican primary polling trends by Morning Consult
Jan 2:
• Trump — 45% (+11)
• DeSantis — 34%Feb 25:
• Trump — 48% (+18)
• DeSantis — 30%March 14:
• Trump — 52% (+24)
• DeSantis — 28%MARCH 19:
• Trump — 54% (+28)
• DeSantis — 26% pic.twitter.com/wh35GXRYII— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 21, 2023
Trump has hit social media for days claiming that a New York district attorney will arrest him for allegedly being involved in a scheme to pay porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair with the New York businessman before he ran for president.
Trump has denied the affair and the payment, allegedly made by his former lawyer Michael Cohen. A Cohen lawyer said this week that Trump was not aware of any payments to Daniels.
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The survey also showed other GOP presidential candidates have no traction so far, and it singled out former Vice President Mike Pence’s slip.
The survey analysis said, “Former Vice President Mike Pence’s favorability rating among potential primary voters declined from 60% to 55% during a week that featured news coverage of his condemnation of Trump’s behavior surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Over the same time period, the share who said they’d recently heard something negative about Pence, who is polling at 7% in the nominating race, increased from 15% to 24%.”
