Former President Donald Trump continues to lead and distance himself from the shrinking field of Republican presidential candidates ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Here's a look at the latest.
What Happened: Trump has dominated political headlines for months with a decision to skip four Republican primary debates and an ongoing civil fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization.
Despite multiple courtroom appearances and a calendar full of court dates alongside his 2024 presidential campaign, Republican voters appeared to be unphased by Trump's legal challenges.
The former president continued to be backed by a majority of Republican voters in a new poll ahead of the 2024 election. Barring any future setbacks or surges from rival opponents, Trump continues to be the odds-on favorite to win his party's nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
The latest Morning Consult poll of GOP voters showed Trump with a comfortable 55-point 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: 66% (67%)
Ron DeSantis: 11% (13%)
Nikki Haley: 11% (10%)
Vivek Ramaswamy: 6% (6%)
Chris Christie: 3% (3%)
In the latest poll, Trump holds a 55-point lead, setting a new record since polling began in December for the second straight week.
Trump has continued to post leads of 50 points or more in recent weeks.
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Why It's Important: Trump's 66% support among Republican voters is down slightly from the 67% in last week's poll, which was a then a record since polling began in December. Trump hit 69% in polling in recent days according to Morning Consult, which could see a new record set in next week's poll.
Outside of Trump, the other big story is Haley, who is tied for second place for the first time in the national Morning Consult poll. Haley's 11% support is also among the highest she has had since polling began.
Haley has been surging up the polls in recent weeks, with many citing her strong backing from donors and performance at the Republican primary debates as reasons to be excited about her campaign.
Florida Gov. DeSantis, who was once the frontrunner for the Republican nomination over Trump, hit a new low at 11% support.
While Haley is surging up the polls and hit second place, it might be too little too late based on Trump's large lead. Along with dominating the first-place votes, Trump was also picked by 30% of the voters who didn't select him first as their second choice. This suggested Trump could gain support from voters as more candidates drop out of the race.
Recent polls from Morning Consult break down the Republican candidates in individual states, including the January caucus for the state of Iowa.
Here’s a look at how Republican voters in the state of Iowa would vote today:
Donald Trump: 50%
Ron DeSantis: 18%
Vivek Ramaswamy: 13%
Nikki Haley: 10%
The latest poll saw Trump decline from 57% in October to 50% in November for the key state. The 50% support also marked the lowest monthly total for Trump for the state in 2023.
A poll from Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom for Iowa showed Trump topping the 50% level and gaining from the previous result.
The results of the poll are:
Donald Trump: 51%
Ron DeSantis: 19%
Nikki Haley: 16%
Vivek Ramaswamy: 5%
Chris Christie: 4%
In that poll, Trump gained eight percentage points from the previous poll for the state. DeSantis also gained three percentage points from the last poll, breaking a tie with Haley to move back into second place by himself.
Trump’s lead at 50% in Iowa in the Morning Consult poll was one of his smallest of the states tracked by the polling company. Most states saw Trump with 60% of the vote or more, including a couple of states (Kentucky, Louisiana), where he had more than 70% of the vote.
The state of Florida, which is the home of both DeSantis and Trump, watched Trump gain steadily in recent months. Trump previously trailed DeSantis in the state 42% to 47% back in December 2022.
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