Former President Trump is gaining speed ahead of the 2024 presidential election, dominating the GOP playing field.
According to a new Harvard Caps/Harris poll, more than half of Republicans, 58 percent, would vote for Trump if the election were held today— putting him far ahead of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla), who only received 16 percent support among likely voters.
Meanwhile, only four percent say they would vote for GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Separately, the poll found DeSantis and President Joe Biden neck-to-neck in a tie when pollsters were asked who they preferred in a hypothetical matchup.
Trump continued to beat the Florida governor, who is seen as the former president's top contender, 65 to 35 percent in a matchup between the two Republican rivals.
However, the poll found that DeSantis has yet to lose the game entirely. If Trump were no longer in the picture, 41 percent of voters would pick the governor to reign the White House.
With DeSantis expected to formally announce his 2024 candidacy as early as next week, Trump will face a mounting threat to his campaign.
"DeSantis is announcing in a much more difficult environment than a few months ago, but most voters believe he can still mount a serious challenge," Mark Penn, the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll co-director, said.
The two Republicans have recently fired shots at one another as the political field heats up. This week, DeSantis argued that only he could beat Biden, adding that Trump has no "serious chance" of being elected.
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"You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing," DeSantis said, speaking at a fundraising event. "Biden, Trump, and me. And I think of those three; two have a chance to get elected president – Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren't going to change their view of him."
However, with Trump at the forefront of several political witch hunts against him, Americans have shifted their sympathy towards the 45th president, boosting his polling numbers.
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