Trump's GOP Lead Drops Slightly In Latest Poll, Ramaswamy And Christie Gain, Pence's 5% Share Up For Grabs

Former President Donald Trump slipped slightly in the latest GOP voter poll, but continued to dominate the shrinking field of Republican candidates ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Here's a look at the latest.

What Happened: Trump had a busy couple of weeks with a civil fraud lawsuit from the state of New York generating headlines about the former president.

Despite multiple courtroom appearances and a calendar filling up with dates alongside his 2024 presidential campaign, Republican voters appear 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 over his Republican opponents.

Here's a look at who Republican voters would vote for today, with the percentage from last week in parentheses.

Donald Trump: 61% (62%)

Ron DeSantis: 13% (13%)

Nikki Haley: 7% (7%)

Vivek Ramaswamy: 7% (6%)

Chris Christie: 3% (2%)

Tim Scott: 2% (2%)

In the latest poll, Trump has a 48-point lead, down from the 49-point lead he had a week ago. Over the past 10 weeks, Trump has had a lead of at least 43 points each week over his Republican competitors.

Related Link: Trump Can Brush Off Legal Challenges, Defeat Biden In 2024 Election, Republican Voters In Key State Poll Say

Why It's Important: The 61% support for Trump was a slight drop from the 62% the former president had last week. The previous weeks had Trump in the 61% to 62% range, hitting a high of 63% in mid-week polling several weeks ago. This marked the biggest number for Trump since polling began in December.

DeSantis held steady at second place and the same 13% level of support. The next poll could show the impact of the Florida governor helping in support of Israel.

Haley ranked third and holds steady from the 7% she had a week ago. The former South Carolina governor had ranked third for three straight weeks and gained support in other polls.

Ramaswamy gained one point from the previous week. The gain came after two straight weeks of declines. The biotech entrepreneur previously saw his support in the double digits for several weeks and was near the level of DeSantis for second place.

The big question for the next poll will be where the 5% support that Mike Pence had in polls goes. Pence announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race on Saturday, when the poll was already being conducted by Morning Consult.

It will be interesting to see if Trump gains from a candidate dropping out or if the 5% is split between other candidates, suggesting a closer race as the field narrows down.

Another item that could narrow down candidates was the upcoming third Republican debate scheduled for Nov. 8. Candidates need to have 4% support in two national polls to qualify, a mark that could knock several off the stage.

The third debate media rights were won by Comcast Corporation CMCSA and streaming rights belong to Rumble Inc RUM.

With low ratings for the second debate and Trump's strong lead, the third debate could quickly become a non-factor and see additional low ratings.

Trump is also rumored to be planning counterprogramming to the third debate, which could end up attracting more viewers than the next debate.

This marked the last Morning Consult 2024 GOP poll released before the one-year mark until the 2024 election is hit. The 2024 presidential election will be held on Nov. 5.

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