By Casey Harper (The Center Square)
The latest political polls show that former President Donald Trump has a significant lead in the Republican presidential primary as the party’s primary draws closer.
Trump leads his challengers by a wide margin in polls released Tuesday by Morning Consult, which compare the support of Republican candidates from GOP primary voters.
The bearing placed Trump at 61% among Republican voters, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy, second with 18%.
The poll showed DeSantis’ support was waning, while Trump’s popularity hit a new high for this cycle.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who also did not announce, is in third place with 6% of those voters’ support.
“Anyone who claims the former president isn’t the front runner is denying the reality,” Colin Reed, Republican strategist, former campaign manager for U.S. Senator Scott Brown, R-Mass., and co-founder of South and Hill Strategies, told The Center Square. “The real question is whether the status quo can sustain itself through the nomination process, or whether a candidate can consolidate a multiplicity of support that rivals the strength of the party’s ‘always Trump’ wing.”
Related: Panic among Democrats after poll shows Trump crushing Biden
Trump’s odds were likely propelled by a recent CNN town hall that was widely seen as a win for Trump and a loss for the network. Trump was accused of lying and fact-checked in real time, but was met with cheers from the crowd when he backed down and attacked the moderator.
“Call this City Hall what it is: a CNN-sponsored Trump 2024 fundraiser,” the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political group, wrote on Twitter. “Disgraceful.”
The day after City Hall, CNN’s Anderson Cooper made it a point to note Trump’s notoriety.
“That man is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president, and polls say no other Republican comes close,” Cooper said, adding that “he could be president in less than two years, and that audience upsets you, that’s a sample of about half the country. It’s your relatives, your neighbors, and they vote, and many said they vote for him.”
Trump will have to maintain his lead against a range of qualified candidates. U.S. Senator Tim Scott, R-SC, is expected to formally announce his candidacy later this month.
Radio host and commentator Larry Elder, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have already announced their candidacy. From the Morning Consult poll, Haley and Ramaswamy tied with 4% support. Scott entered with 1% support.
There is still time for potential challengers to gain ground on the former president. The first GOP caucus is in Iowa on January 22, 2024. The first GOP primary is on January 30, 2024 in New Hampshire. But the first tranche of states to have their presidential primary votes is next March.
Related: Trump fires first shot at Biden in 2024 presidential showdown
For now, however, Trump has a significant lead.
“History tells us that Trump will not implode or disappear on his own, and he has a low ceiling and a high floor – a floor that gets even higher when the rest of the pie is split among a slew of other names. ‘ said Reed.
President Joe Biden has announced that he will run for re-election in April. Author Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kenney Jr., an environmental lawyer famous for attacking the COVID-19 vaccine, are taking on Biden.
However, they have gained little traction and blame the Democratic National Convention, pointing out that the DNC plans not to host debates before the primary.
In typical Trump fashionslapped the former president Biden immediately after his announcement.
“You could take the five worst presidents in American history and put them together, and in just a few short years they wouldn’t have done the damage that Joe Biden did to our nation,” Trump said in his video response to TruthSocial at Biden’s announcement. “Not even close.”
Syndicated with permission from Center Square.