Former President Donald Trump skipped out on appearing at the first and second Republican primary debates but continues to dominate the Republican field of candidates in election polls ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Here’s a look at the latest.
What Happened: Trump appeared in court Tuesday as part of his civil fraud lawsuit from the state of New York. The former president was also recently met with a limited gag order related to a case on the 2020 presidential election.
Court appearances and cases are a common theme for Trump in 2023 with a calendar filling up with dates alongside his campaign to become the president of the U.S. once again.
Republican voters appeared to be unphased by Trump’s legal challenges. Trump continued to see strong backing from Republican voters and is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 GOP nomination, barring any future setbacks or surges from rival opponents.
The latest Morning Consult poll of GOP voters shows Trump with a comfortable lead, but it is down from the record high he posted just last week.
Here’s a look at who Republican voters would vote for today, with the percentage from last week in parentheses.
- Donald Trump: 59% (61%)
- Ron DeSantis: 14% (12%)
- Nikki Haley: 7% (6%)
- Vivek Ramaswamy: 7% (9%)
- Mike Pence: 6% (5%)
- Chris Christie: 3% (3%)
- Tim Scott: 2% (2%)
In the latest poll, Trump had a 45-point lead, which is down from last week’s 49-point lead. Over the past eight weeks, Trump had a lead of at least 43 points each week over his Republican competitors.
Related Link: Exclusive: Former Trump Ally Scaramucci Criticizes Presidential Candidate Lineup, 2024 Election
Why It’s Important: The 61% support Trump had last week was the highest for Trump since polling began in December. Trump also hit a high of 63% in mid-week polling according to Morning Consult before dropping in the full report.
Trump loses two percentage points in the latest poll but still has a sizable lead over the competition.
Republican candidates Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Mike Pence were the winners on the week, gaining two points, one point and one point, respectively.
Haley jumped back to third place and has continued to show strong figures in recent polls and was mentioned as one of the potential winners from both Republican primary debates.
DeSantis gained two points and ranks the highest he has in several weeks. This could be a positive sign as many are now counting the Florida governor out of the race after previously being a frontrunner to take on both Trump in the GOP race and Democrat President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
Ramaswamy is the other candidate to see a dip alongside Trump, dropping two percentage points. The biotech entrepreneur previously saw support in the double digits for several weeks, coming close to challenging DeSantis for a second-place ranking. The candidate now appears to be on the wrong side of the momentum swing, not being able to clear double digits for multiple weeks.
A third debate is scheduled for Nov. 8 and candidates will need to have 4% support in two national polls to qualify. Over the next month, the party could see more candidates drop out.
Low ratings for the second debate and the strong polling numbers for Trump could make the third debate a non-factor once again.
Read Next: 2024 Presidential Election Betting Odds: Trump Now The Favorite
Photo: Pence, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley via Shutterstock
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