Former President Donald Trump is leading the Republican primary field by 45 percent — one of his “biggest advantages” since the poll’s tracking began — this week’s Morning Consult poll found.
Most, 60 percent of Republican primary voters, support Trump in the Republican primary race. That reflects a two-point increase from the 58 percent he garnered last week post-debate, which he did not participate in.
Trump’s 60 percent support puts him a full 45 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in a distant second with 15 percent support. Over the last week, Trump’s overall lead has increased by one point — 45 percent compared to 44 percent last week.
Morning Consult noted this marks “one of the former president’s biggest advantages since tracking began in December.”
The anti-woke businessman placed third with eight percent support — a two-point decrease from the ten percent he saw last week. Former Vice President Mike Pence remained steady with six percent support, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (five percent), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (three percent), South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (two percent), and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (one percent). North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd saw zero percent support.
Thirty-six percent of Trump supporters choose DeSantis as their second choice candidate, followed by 21 percent who said Ramaswamy, 11 percent who said Pence, and six percent who said Haley.
Similarly, 34 percent of DeSantis supporters choose Trump as their second choice candidate, followed by 21 percent who said Haley, 19 percent who said Ramaswamy, and 14 percent who said Pence.
The survey was taken September 2-4, 2023, among 3,745 potential Republican primary voters.
It has a +/- 2 percent margin of error and comes as several other surveys show DeSantis failing to see any major momentum in the polls. It has gotten to the point where the pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down has ceased door-knocking operations in Super Tuesday states, asserting it will instead focus on New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina. However, DeSantis has remained stagnant in those states as well, even falling to third place in New Hampshire.
Trump has asserted his challenger has “no personality,” predicting in an interview with Breitbart News in July that DeSantis would likely fall behind other candidates as the primary continues,
“He turned out to be a lousy candidate. I don’t think he’s going to be second very long. It looks like he’s being superseded by others or getting very close,” Trump predicted.
Exclusive — Trump on DeSantis: ‘He’s Crashing Badly,’ Will Be ‘Superseded’ in Second Place