Former President Donald Trump retained a large lead in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida following a boost in the polls after his indictments, according to the latest Real Clear Politics polling average.
Trump leads a growing field of Republican candidates by around 25 points in Iowa and New Hampshire and by more than 10 points in the Sunshine State, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis coming in as his closest challenger. Trump’s continued dominance in the polls comes after his indictments earlier this year angered conservatives and rallied his base.
In Iowa, where the first GOP caucus will be held on January 15, 2024, Trump leads DeSantis by 24 percentage points (47.7% to 23.7%), according to the RCP average. Trump held an event in Iowa last week as DeSantis’ wife Casey also met with voters in the Hawkeye State. Former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) are polling third and fourth in the state, both coming in around 4%.
The former president is ahead of DeSantis 44.3% to 17.7% in New Hampshire with the next closest GOP candidate, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, coming in at 4.7%.
In DeSantis’ home state, where the governor is performing best in the polls, he still trails Trump by an average of more than 10 percentage points. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy jumped into third place in Florida polling but sits at a low 3%.
Trump’s national polling sits at 52.6%, according to the RCP average. DeSantis is in second place with 21%, former Vice President Mike Pence holds third at 6.3%, and Haley and Scott come in fourth and fifth with 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively. DeSantis’ polling average has leveled off at around 20% nationally after jumping into the race in late May. The governor had reached as high as 30% in some polls earlier this year before he officially launched his campaign.
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Trump’s large lead in the polls comes as he has dominated headlines for months following his April indictment in Manhattan on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Two months later, the former president was indicted in Miami on 37 felony counts relating to his handling of classified documents. Many Republicans, including some of Trump’s opponents in the GOP primary, have defended the leading candidate amidst his legal battles, calling the indictments politically-motivated targeting of President Joe Biden’s chief rival.