Donald Trump has a two-to-one lead over Ron DeSantis in Iowa, Tim Scott climbs into third place as his rivals prepare to fight in the first Republican presidential debate
- Trump is ahead of DeSantis by 41% to 19% in the new poll
- South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott trails in Iowa with 9% of the GOP vote
Former President Donald Trump has a huge lead over Republican Ron DeSantis in Iowa, beating his closest rival by 23 percentage points.
The data comes less than five months before the Iowa election convention, on the eve of the first Republican presidential debate.
Trump said he will not take part in this challenge, preferring to remain at its helm while his potential rivals lash out.
The Florida governor continues to be Trump’s closest competitor, even after weeks of firing campaign personnel and much of his political activity having an outside super-PAC backing him.
Former President Donald Trump more than doubled rival Ron DeSantis in the latest Des Moines Register poll
Trump leads DeSantis 41 to 19 in the new Des Moines Register poll conducted Aug. 13-17.
That includes the period of Trump’s fourth indictment, this time by a grand jury from Fulton County, Georgia. He faces conspiracy, false testimony and other charges related to his 2020 election victory in the state.
With Trump out of the debate, DeSantis is advised to attack underperforming candidates, including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is at 4 percent in the Iowa poll.
Third in the poll is South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is at 9 percent and made an $8 million ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire days ago.
Trump sits at its helm, sitting out the first presidential debate. He attended the Iowa State Fair on August 12, days before his fourth indictment
Republican presidential candidate U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) ranks third in the new Iowa poll with 9 percent
In the RealClearPolitics poll average, Scott is only 3 percent nationally.
Behind Scott is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 6 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has contested Trump’s claims that he has the authority to refuse to accept votes for Joe Biden during the election count, is also at 6 percent.
Former New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie, who has strongly criticized Trump in New Hampshire and qualified for the debate, is at 5 percent.
About two-thirds of Trump supporters say they have made up their minds, and a third say they could be persuaded to support someone else. DeSantis’ support is weaker: 69 percent said they could be persuaded, and just 31 percent said they had made up their minds.