Donald Trump Soars over Potential 2024 Challengers with 50% Support in 2024 Republican Primary

Former President Donald Trump waves after announcing he is running for president for the t
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Hannah Knudsen

Former President Donald Trump is seeing 50 percent support in the hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field, the latest Morning Consult survey found.

The survey, updated on Tuesday, shows the former president soaring over his potential challengers, as half of potential GOP primary voters said they will support Trump in the primary race.

The poll listed several other potential challengers, including former Vice President Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, the latter of whom formally jumped into the presidential ring last week. 

Not one candidate came close to Trump in terms of support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has yet to announce a 2024 presidential bid, fell 20 percent behind Trump with 30 percent support. 

TOPSHOT - Republican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis with his wife Casey DeSantis speaks to supporters during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022. - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has been tipped as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, was projected as one of the early winners of the night in Tuesday's midterm election. (Photo by Giorgio VIERA / AFP) (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

No other candidate saw double-digit support. Pence and Haley tied for third place with six percent support each, followed by former anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney with three percent and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Sen. Tim Scott garnering one percent support each. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is also listed as potential challenger but garnered zero percent support. 

When asked who their top second choice is, 45 percent of Trump supporters chose DeSantis, while 38 percent of DeSantis voters chose Trump. 

The survey was taken February 17-19, among 3,217 potential GOP primary voters and has a +/- 2 percent margin of error.

Notably, Haley is the only candidate listed in the survey outside of Trump who has formally announced a presidential bid. Not included in the survey is 37-year-old anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who formally launched his 2024 presidential bid on Monday, calling for a revival of “American exceptionalism.”

Meanwhile, Trump continues to dominate in survey after survey, routinely leading his potential challengers by double-digits, up 23 percent in a recent Harvard Caps/Harris survey and up 29 percent in a recent Premise Data poll. 

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), of whom Trump is not a fan, is among those who believes the Republican presidential state primaries will become “very, very competitive.”

“And obviously, I’m going to support whoever the nominee ultimately is,” he said. 

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