Former President Donald Trump continued to dominate a shrinking field of Republican candidates ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Here's a look at the latest.
What Happened: Trump was on the stand this week sharing his testimony in a civil fraud lawsuit from the state of New York against The Trump Organization.
Despite multiple courtroom appearances and a calendar filling up with dates alongside his 2024 presidential campaign, Republican voters appeared to be unphased by Trump's legal challenges.
Trump maintained strong backing from Republican voters and was 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 showed 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: 63% (61%)
Ron DeSantis: 15% (13%)
Nikki Haley: 8% (7%)
Vivek Ramaswamy: 7% (7%)
Chris Christie: 3% (3%)
Tim Scott: 2% (2%)
In the latest poll, Trump had a 48-point lead, which was the same as the previous poll. Over the past 10 weeks, Trump had a lead of at least 43 points each week over his Republican competitors.
Related Link: Donald Trump Calls Attorney General Political Hack In Testimony, Sas Fraud Trial Is Election Interference
Why It's Important: The 63% support for Trump continued a trend of hitting new highs, as this marked the biggest number for Trump since polling began in December.
One of the biggest takeaways was a look at which candidates gained from the previous week.
Trump gained two percentage points, DeSantis gained one and Haley gained one. Together this 5% represented the level of support former Vice President Mike Pence had been getting in polls before he dropped out of the race.
Haley has ranked third for four straight weeks and continued to gain support in other polls.
Ramaswamy might be the biggest loser in the latest poll as he gained no extra support despite a candidate dropping out.
The poll from Morning Consult came ahead of the third Republican debate scheduled for Nov. 8, which could narrow the Republican field down even more.
The third debate media rights were won by Comcast Corporation CMCSA and streaming rights belong to Rumble Inc RUM.
The event takes place in Florida on Wednesday with an air time of 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET. The stage will feature Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy and Scott, who were the only five candidates to qualify outside of Trump.
Trump will once again be skipping the debate with potential counterprogramming being held at the same debate that could end up attracting more viewers than the next debate.
The 2024 election is officially less than a year away with a date of Nov. 5, 2024.
Read Next: 2024 Presidential Election Betting Odds, Trump Now The Favorite
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