A week after the first RNC presidential primary debate, former and potentially future President Donald Trump remains the frontrunner in the polls. He actually skipped that first debate and is likely to skip future ones. Say what you will about that decison, but his current lead in the polls does back him up when he speaks to not wanting to debate other candidates lagging so far behind. Trump especially took to highlighting poll results earlier this week, through TruthSocial posts as well as press releases emailed out by his campaign.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Trump campaign emailed a roundup of "Important Articles and Posts from President Trump." Many articles touched upon the numerous indictments against him, including how the indictments serve as election interference for 2024, especially since Trump is likely to be President Joe Biden's opponent in the general election.
Many posts also touched upon Trump's lead, including when it comes to national polls and a poll out of Georgia. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) had also posted on TruthSocial about that poll to speak to her support for Trump's candidacy.
That AJC GOP Presidential Primary poll out of Georgia was conducted August 16-23, so right before that first debate. The poll shows Trump with 56.5 percent support, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) comes in second with 14.6 percent, and 13.9 percent are undecided.
"The difference between first-place candidate Trump’s estimated vote share and second-place candidate DeSantis’ estimated vote share, at 41.9, is statistically significant. In plain English, Trump is currently leading DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary in Georgia," the poll noted.
The poll also showed that a majority of respondents who are voting for Trump said they've made up their mind, with 63.7 percent say they're only considering Trump. The same goes for those who aren't supporting Trump, as a similar 64.5 percent of respondents who are voting for another candidate besides Trump said they are not considering Trump.
When it comes to Trump's chances against Biden, 50 percent agree most with the statement that "Donald Trump is definitely the strongest candidate to beat Joe Biden."
The poll was conducted with 807 likely Republican primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Results are similar to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) national average, which has Trump with 53.6 percent support. DeSantis is in second place with 13.5 percent support.
The fourth and most recent indictment came out of Georgia, brought forth by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, who charged Trump and 18 co-conspirators for their actions to do with the 2020 election results. That rallying around Trump effect could thus very well be in play here.
Georgia is a tricky one, though. Trump won the state by almost 5 points in 2016, but then Biden eked out a win in 2020 by just 0.2 points. Even with recounts and lawsuits, Biden was declared the winner. It was one of those states that was particularly crucial in getting him elected as president.
In all three Senate runoff elections, the Democratic candidate won every time, including Sen. Jon Ossoff when he beat Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue in 2021. Sen. Raphael Warnock beat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler in 2021, and fended off a challenge from Republican candidate Herschel Walker in 2022, who had been backed by Trump.
Georgia looks to be a battleground state now. Trump could very well win the state for the Republican primary on March 12, just as he did during the 2016 primary. Especially if Trump wins the nomination, though, Georgia will be one to watch.
It has not gone unnoticed that Trump's posts and emails came as Hurricane Idalia was headed towards Florida, which is now his home state. Trump did express concern and well wishes in a TruthSocial post from Wednesday night, though.
Due to the hurricane, DeSantis is currently off the campaign trail and back home in Florida, having returned to give remarks in Jacksonville after a shooting there and to prepare the state for the hurricane.
DeSantis had been asked at a Wednesday morning press conference about how Trump had not yet, as of that time, commented on the hurricane. DeSantis shut down any talk about politics, though. "That is not my concern," DeSantis made clear. "My concern is protecting the people of Florida," as he spent the rest of his answer talking about having a preparedness response
While Trump currently does indeed enjoys a strong lead over DeSantis who is in a distant second, it will be interesting to see if the governor gets any kind of boost for his handling of the hurricane.
Some “journalists” should be ashamed of themselves. Why ask a question about inane political back-and-forth right before a category 3 hurricane hits Florida? Is there something you could ask the governor that might actually provide useful info for your audience? https://t.co/bb0C7awYYe
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) August 30, 2023