Tim Scott closes in on DeSantis in new Iowa poll
Naomi Lim
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has surged to third place in Iowa, five months before the 2024 Republican primary election’s opening caucuses, according to a new poll.
Scott has gained 10 percentage points since Republican polling firm J.L. Partners surveyed likely GOP caucusgoers in the first-in-the-nation state last April, when he had 11% support.
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Former President Donald Trump still dominates the primary race with 43% support, a 2-point increase since April, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has 17%, a 9-point decrease since the spring, the poll released on Thursday found. Biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has 5% support. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have 3% support. Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) has 2% support.
Despite Scott’s momentum, DeSantis performs better against Trump. In a head-to-head matchup, Trump has 48% support to DeSantis’s 35%, while 17% remain undecided. Meanwhile, Trump has 54% to Scott’s 34% when that pair is compared, with 12% undecided.
The poll was conducted among 600 likely Republican caucusgoers from Aug. 1 to 7, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points. Trump was arraigned a third time on Aug. 3, appearing in a federal court in Washington to plead not guilty to charges brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith regarding his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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Trump averages 44% support in Iowa to DeSantis’s 17%, Scott’s 10%, Ramaswamy’s 5%, Haley’s 4%, Pence’s and Christie’s 3%, and Burgum’s 2%, per RealClearPolitics.
While Iowa has not always been determinative in primary contests, most of the field will descend on Des Moines this weekend and next week as the state hosts its annual fair.