Trump widens lead over DeSantis in GOP primary: poll

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Former President Donald Trump is expanding his lead over the rest of the Republican primary field, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.

In a hypothetical nine-way Republican presidential primary, Trump is pulling in 58 percent support among GOP voters, adding 3 percentage points to his surprising lead from last month. His closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, scored just 16 percent in the survey – a 4-point downturn from the previous survey.

No other candidate, declared or potential, comes close to Trump or DeSantis. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence, who has yet to announce a campaign, tied for third place at just 4 percent, according to the poll.

The poll, released days before DeSantis is expected to formally jump into the 2024 presidential race, suggests the Florida governor has yet to recover after dealing with weeks of missteps and attacks from Trump.

But most Republican voters still believe DeSantis poses a serious threat to Trump as the two prepare to compete for the GOP nomination in 2024. Fifty-seven percent said the governor appears ready to mount a real challenge to the former president, while 43 percent said they believe DeSantis’ prospects are fading.

“Desantis is campaigning in a more difficult environment than a few months ago but most voters believe he can still mount a serious challenge to…Trump,” said Mark Penn , the poll’s co-director.

DeSantis is expected to race next week. In recent days, he has appeared in key primary and caucus states like Iowa and New Hampshire, and recently moved his political shop to a new office in Tallahassee.

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He is also set to huddle with donors and top supporters in Miami next week after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy.

The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey was conducted May 17-18 and surveyed 2,004 registered voters. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll.

The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.

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