Donald Trump’s Big GOP Primary Lead Slips

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Donald Trump’s wide lead in the GOP presidential primary has fallen slightly compared to a survey from June.

According to a July YouGov/Economist poll of 549 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, a total of 49 percent want the former president to be the GOP nominee in 2024, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a distant second at 20 percent—a 29 point. leading for Trump.

The results show Trump’s lead narrowed slightly from another YouGov/Economist poll in June, although the former president is still the clear favorite to clinch next year’s presidential nomination.

The results come as DeSantis has been repeatedly asked why his campaign for president is struggling to gain momentum, especially as the former president faces a series of legal difficulties and criminal trials.

Former US President Donald Trump attends UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena on July 08, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada Steve Marcus/Getty Images

The June survey showed Trump with a 31-point lead over DeSantis in the GOP primary (51 to 20 percent), with no other Republican candidates in the crowded field, such as former vice president Mike Pence or former governor of South Carolina’s Nikki Haley, getting more than 4 percent.

Trump’s lead in the GOP primary also fell slightly between the two polls when broken down by only registered Republican independent or Republican-leaning voters.

In a July poll of 502 registered voters, 48 ​​percent said Trump was their preferred 2024 GOP candidate, with DeSantis 26 points behind at 22 percent. In June, Trump’s lead over DeSantis among registered GOP voters was 30 points (51 to 21 percent).

Trump has often cited DeSantis’ struggling poll numbers to brush aside any suggestion that the Florida governor should lead the GOP into the 2024 election.

“If they don’t like Ron DeSanctimonious now, they won’t like him 6 months from now when ‘Primary Season’ starts,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday. “The more people who know him, the lower his polls will be. He’s in his mid-teens now, and falling fast!”

Trump also frequently shares poll results from national and state GOP presidential primary surveys showing him with a wide lead over DeSantis on his social media platform.

DeSantis was recently grilled by Fox News’ Will Cain about why the 2024 hopeful’s presidential campaign has yet to “connect” with voters nationally.

In response, DeSantis noted that his team and the pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down have raised more than $150 million in political funding since his presidential campaign officially launched in late May to highlight his popularity in the early running of the GOP primary.

“We’re in the process of building a great organization, and we’re going to hit the ground running in all these early states,” DeSantis said. “It’s a three yards and a cloud of dust kind of situation.

“At the end of the day, nobody has stood up for hard-working Americans more than I have over the last five years, and delivered the level of results that I have,” DeSantis added.

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