Donald Trump holds a two-to-one lead over Ron DeSantis in Iowa with Tim Scott climbing to third place as his rivals prepare to do battle in the first Republican presidential debate
- Trump leads DeSantis 41-19 in new poll
- South Carolina Senator Tim Scott trails with 9%
Former President Donald Trump holds a wide lead over Republican Ron DeSantis in Iowa, beating his nearest rival by 23 percentage points.
The data comes less than five months before the Iowa caucuses, on the eve of the first Republican presidential debate.
Trump said he would not participate in that challenge, preferring instead to sit on his lead while his potential rivals squared off.
The Florida governor continues to be Trump’s closest competitor, even after weeks of laying off campaign staff and seeing many of his political activities backed by a supportive outside super PAC.
Former President Donald Trump more than doubles rival Ron DeSantis in latest Des Moines Register poll
Trump leads DeSantis 41-19 in the new Des Moines Register poll, which was taken Aug. 13-17. This includes the period of Trump’s fourth indictment, this time by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia. He is charged with conspiracy, misrepresentation and other charges related to his overthrow of the state’s 2020 election.
With Trump out of the debate, DeSantis is advised to attack the underperforming candidates, including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is down 4% in the Iowa poll.
In third position in the survey, the senator of South Carolina, Tim Scott, who is at 9%, and who a few days ago placed 8 million dollars buy ad in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Trump is absent from the first presidential debate while sitting in the lead. He visited the Iowa State Fair on August 12, days before his fourth indictment
Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) ranks third in new Iowa poll, with 9%
Scott is just 3% nationally in the RealClearPolitics poll average.
Trailing Scott is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 6%. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who pushed back on Trump’s claims that he had the power to refuse to accept votes for Joe Biden in the electoral count, is also at 6%.
Old New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie, who hammered Trump in New Hampshire and qualified for the debate, is at 5%.
About two-thirds of Trump supporters say their decision is made, with a third saying they could be persuaded to support someone else. DeSantis’ support is softer, with 69 saying they could be persuaded and just 31% saying their decision was made.
