Trump trounces GOP field, but half of supporters are willing to consider others: Poll
Julia Johnson
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Former President Donald Trump trounced the competition in a Republican presidential primary poll, with more than half of Republican primary voters supporting him. This comes on the heels of charges being added to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against the former president over classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
In the first New York Times/Siena College poll of the 2024 campaign, Trump boasted the support of 54% of GOP primary voters.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is considered the biggest threat to Trump in the primary, only amassed 17%. Every other candidate polled at 3% or less among voters.
The third most popular option was “don’t know/refused,” which was selected by 13% of respondents.
The first survey from the pollster paints a picture of a Trump-dominated primary field, with no one else coming close to touching his lead.
Eighty percent of primary voters further said they supported their selected candidate “strongly,” whereas only 19% said their support was not that strong.
Despite Trump’s strong lead over his competition, GOP contenders may still have a lane to defeat him. More than half of those supporting Trump said they are only considering the former president. However, 46% of those backing Trump said they are still considering other candidates.
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In a matchup between just Trump and DeSantis, 62% preferred the former president. DeSantis was supported by 31%.
Last week, Smith filed three new charges against Trump in his classified documents case. The superseding indictment accused the former president of attempting to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage. Following news of the charges, as well as a target letter to Trump regarding the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, he saw an increase in support in primary polls.