Donald Trump has a two-to-one lead over Iowa’s Ron DeSantis, while Tim Scott moves into third as his rivals prepare to battle in the first Republican presidential debate
- Trump leads DeSantis 41-19 in the new poll
- South Carolina Senator Tim Scott follows with 9 percent
Former President Donald Trump has a wide lead over Iowa Republican Ron DeSantis, 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 will not participate in that challenge, preferring instead to sit at his command while his potential rivals go head-to-head.
The Florida governor remains Trump’s closest competitor, even after weeks in which he fired campaign staff and saw much of his political activity backed by an outside super-PAC backing him.
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 conducted Aug. 13-17. That includes the period of Trump’s fourth indictment, this time by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia. He faces conspiracy, false statements and other charges related to his overthrow of the 2020 election in the state.
With Trump out of the debate, DeSantis is being advised to attack lower-performing candidates, including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is down 4 percent in the Iowa poll.
Third in the poll is Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is at 9 percent, who posted a figure of $8 million days ago buy ad in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Trump is sitting out the first presidential debate while in charge. He attended the Iowa State Fair on August 12, days before his fourth indictment
Republican presidential nominee U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) ranks third in the new Iowa poll, with 9 percent
Scott ranks just 3 percent nationally in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Behind Scott is former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley with 6 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has opposed Trump’s claims that he had 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 hammered Trump in New Hampshire and qualified for the debate, is at 5 percent.
About two-thirds of Trump supporters say they’ve made up their mind, and a third say they can be persuaded to support someone else. DeSantis’ support is softer: 69 say they could be persuaded and only 31 percent said they made up their minds.