Former President Donald Trump now faces 78 felony counts in three criminal cases. A fourth charge could come any day.
They carry a very real chance of jail time and the prospect of the Republican presidential nominee campaigning from a cell.
But that doesn’t diminish Trump’s appeal to his supporters.
A new poll for DailyMail.com found that nearly half of Republicans in Iowa — the first state to pick its preferred candidate next year — think the former president should continue the race even as he is imprisoned for federal crimes.
Some 48 percent said he should continue compared to 39 percent who said he should stop, according to a survey of 600 Republicans conducted by JL Partners.
The idea of a presidential candidate in prison does not deter nearly half of Iowa Republicans. They say Trump should continue his campaign, even if he is imprisoned
Trump and his allies continue to launch attacks on Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is behind two of the cases, accusing him of conducting a witch hunt to keep the former president out of power
He will appear at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday as candidates try to court the rank and file.
On Thursday, the idea that he could go to prison seemed distant to some in attendance.
Jake Hansell, 78, said: ‘He’s not going to go behind bars. He’s too smart for that.’
But if Trump loses his legal battle? “Of course,” the Des Moines real estate agent said. “He needs to keep campaigning.”
With Trump facing multiple criminal trials, the extraordinary prospect of a White House candidate being imprisoned during the campaign arises.
All told, he could face hundreds of years in prison if found guilty on all counts, though his rather clean criminal record will likely spare him the harshest sentences.
James Johnson, founder of JL Partners, the Republican polling firm that conducted the survey, said the results should be viewed in reverse.
“It tempers the idea that Republican voters will slavishly follow Trump,” he said.
“Actually, if you look at the results as a whole, there’s a significant portion — four in 10, according to this poll — who will actually say Trump should drop out of the presidential race entirely if he ends up in jail.
“For this section of Iowa voters, it appears that there is a bridge too far.”
But there are signs of weakness in Trump’s support when it comes to the 2024 general election race. Nearly one in five Iowa Republicans say they won’t vote for him
Jake Hansell, 78, said at the Iowa State Fair, “He’s not going to go behind bars. He’s too smart for that.’ But if he does? “He needs to keep campaigning,” he said
Trump appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C. last week to plead not guilty to charges related to his bid to stay in power after the 2020 election
The poll fieldwork was conducted from Aug. 1 to Aug. 7, in the immediate wake of Trump’s third indictment since March.
The results showed that the former president maintains his strong hold on the race in Iowa, a crucial early state.
He has the support of 43 percent of likely caucus attendees, according to the poll of 600 people, giving him a 26-point lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
If anything, the charges have helped him, boosted fundraising and taken rival candidates out of the news cycle.
But any advantage could be lost when it comes to next year and a possible meeting with President Joe Biden.
The poll found that nearly one in five Republicans in Iowa will not vote for Trump if he is the nominee. Six percent said they intended to vote for Biden, 10 percent said they would vote for another candidate, and two percent said they would not vote at all.
“He might get Iowa votes for the nomination, but if he loses even a fraction of that support in the general election — people who should be some of the most die-hard supporters of a Republican candidate — then he’s going to be in real trouble.” come. pollster Johnson said.
The campaign focus shifts to Iowa this week, where presidential candidates will shake hands and kiss babies in a busy round of ‘retail politics’
JL Partners surveyed 600 likely Republican caucus attendees in Iowa from Aug. 1 to Aug. 7. The results have a margin of error of +/- four percent
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal woes are piling up.
He appeared in court last week to deny allegations related to his attempts to stay in power after the 2020 election.
The latest federal case charges Trump with three counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, two charges of obstructing official proceedings, and conspiracy against people’s rights.
They carry maximum prison sentences of five years, 20 years and 10 years respectively.
Earlier this year, he pleaded not guilty in New York court to charges related to a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He faces 34 charges next year for falsifying company records, each of which carries a four-year prison sentence.
And in June, Trump was charged in federal court with illegally possessing classified documents after he left the White House and hid them from the government.
Police closed roads on Monday and patrolled the Atlanta courthouse with dogs. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is believed to be in the final stages of her investigation into Trump
Food carts stayed away and the otherwise bustling neighborhood was empty on Monday
Each of the 32 charges of ‘deliberate preservation of national secrets’ carries a maximum prison term of 10 years
The six charges of obstruction of justice are punishable by sentences of up to 20 years. And two charges of making false statements each carry a maximum of five years.
More charges could follow. This week, police in Atlanta, Georgia sealed off the downtown courthouse pending an expected election-related indictment in 2020.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is in the final stages of her investigation into Trump’s attempts to reverse his defeat in the key swing state.