Former President Donald Trump is dominating the Republican primary race in West Virginia, the latest East Carolina University (ECU) survey found.
The survey showed a majority of Republicans, 54 percent, backing Trump in the 2024 primary. No other candidate comes remotely close.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who jumped into the presidential race last week after months of speculation, comes in 45 points behind with nine percent support. Former Vice President Mike Pence comes four points behind DeSantis with five percent support, followed by South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (four percent), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (three percent), anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (two percent), and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (two percent). Twenty percent remain undecided.
This same survey showed West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) leading Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) by double-digits as well, 54 percent to 32 percent. Notably, Justice is among those who have already predicted that Trump will win the 2024 presidential election.
“Absolutely,” Justice said when asked if Trump would win the “whole thing” during an April appearance on Fox News Tonight.
He added:
I hope like crazy that to be the case. We had a real president three years ago, did we not? And today we’re struggling beyond belief. The whole world is all to pieces. Absolutely I believe that President Trump not only can win, I believe he will win, and it will be a great day for America.
The survey was taken May 22-23, 2023, among 957 registered voters in West Virginia. It has a Credibility Interval (CI) of +/- 3.7 percent.
The survey comes as Trump continues to dominate in several other state-level primary polls as well, holding double-digit leads in Iowa, California, South Carolina, Nevada, and New Hampshire.
Watch — Donna Brazile: Trump Is Going to Be GOP 2024 Nominee