Former President Donald Trump continues to crush his Republican challengers in the national GOP primary race, leading them by a 43-point margin as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hits a new low, this week’s Morning Consult survey updated Tuesday found.
The survey found Trump with majority support. Fifty-eight percent of Republican respondents support the former president in the crowded primary field. According to Morning Consult, this reflects “one of the former president’s largest advantages over his nearest challenger since Morning Consult began tracking the primary race in early December.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis falls 43 points behind, remaining in the teens with 15 percent support, down from 16 percent last week.
“DeSantis’ support has flatlined in recent days at 15%, a tracking low,” the survey observed.
Anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy comes just six points behind him in third place with nine percent support.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence comes in fourth place with seven percent support, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley follow with three percent support each. Every other candidate listed sees one percent support or less.
That portion of the survey was taken July 28-30, 2023, among 3,716 potential GOP primary voters and has a ± two percent margin of error.
The survey also found the second choices of Trump voters diversifying a bit. Now, 33 percent choose DeSantis as their second choice candidate, followed by Ramaswamy at 20 percent and Pence at 13 percent. On the flip side, 37 percent of DeSantis supporters choose Trump as their second choice candidate, followed by 16 percent who choose Pence and 25 percent who choose Ramaswamy.
The survey comes as establishment media outlets issue warnings about the “very real possibility” of Trump returning to the White House. Trump, meanwhile, has joked about allowing his challengers to debate so he can see who he “might” consider for vice president.
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