Former President Donald Trump continues to a post a big lead over the declining number of Republican presidential candidates in most election polls ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Here's a look at the latest.
What Happened: Trump won the Iowa caucus Monday night to jump out in the early lead for the nod for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump won the state of Iowa with 51% of the vote, earning 20 delegates in the Republican primary race. Ron DeSantis ranked second with 21.2% of the vote, earning nine delegates. Nikki Haley ranked third with 19.1% of the vote and eight delegates.
Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced he was dropping out of the race after the Iowa caucus and a fourth-place finish. The biotech entrepreneur pledged his support to Trump in the race.
The latest Morning Consult poll of GOP voters was conducted before the Iowa caucus and Ramaswamy dropping out.
Here's a look at who Republican voters selected in the Morning Consult poll conducted Jan. 11 through Jan. 13, with the percentage from last week in parentheses.
Donald Trump: 69% (65%)
Nikki Haley: 12% (11%)
Ron DeSantis: 11% (13%)
Vivek Ramaswamy: 5% (5%)
Asa Hutchinson: 1% (1%)
Chris Christie had 4% of support in the previous poll. Based on the latest figures, his support appears to have gone to Haley and Trump with DeSantis also declining in the latest poll.
Why It's Important: Trump's lead jumps to 57 points, a new record since polling began in December. Trump's 69% of the vote in the poll also tied a record lead since polling began.
Trump has been dominant in the poll of national Republican voters in recent weeks and the results in Iowa shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Trump posted a lead of 50 points or more in multiple consecutive weeks in the national poll of Republican voters.
A separate poll of Iowa voters from Morning Consult showed Trump at 58%, Haley at 15% and DeSantis at 14% ahead of the state caucus.
Haley moved back to second place in the latest Morning Consult poll, topping DeSantis once again. DeSantis has fallen in the poll in recent months and his distant second-place finish in Iowa could hurt his campaign, as the state was believed to be one of his strong territories.
Voters who selected a candidate other than Trump were most likely to select Trump as their second choice at 34%, followed by DeSantis at 21% and Haley at 16%. This could suggest Ramaswamy's supporters could flock to Trump, which comes in line with many political ideals as well.
Voters who selected Trump first were most likely to pick DeSantis as their second choice at 41%, followed by 24% selecting Ramaswamy and 15% selecting Haley.
The new poll also found that Trump had a favorable rating of 77% and unfavorable rating of 21%, which was better in both aspects than DeSantis, Ramaswamy and Haley. Trump also had the highest mark for people who had heard something positive about him in the past week, while also getting the largest percent for people hearing something negative about him in the past week.
DeSantis and Haley are both turning their attention to the states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, which are both early voting states and could be the next battleground states.
Haley and DeSantis battled in a head-to-head fifth Republican primary debate that recently aired on Warner Bros. Discovery WBD-owned CNN.
Plans for the sixth and seventh Republican debates set to air on Walt Disney Co DIS unit ABC News and CNN, respectively, could come into question with Haley now ready to skip debates that don't include Trump. DeSantis appeared to be ready to debate by himself if needed.
"I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week," DeSantis said on X.
Photo: Shutterstock
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