Former President Donald Trump’s lead over the Republican primary field has grown even more in the wake of his indictment, this week’s Morning Consult survey revealed.
This week’s survey was taken June 9-11, 2023, following Trump announcing that he had been indicted as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his handling of White House documents. Notably, this survey was also take after both former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie jumped into the presidential ring.
Even with more official challengers joining the race, as well as an indictment, Trump has expanded his lead to 59 percent. That reflects a three-point uptick from the 56 percent he saw last week.
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DeSantis, meanwhile, has experienced a three-point drop over the last week, going from 22 percent support last week to 19 percent this week. In other words, Trump has increased his overall lead from 34 percent last week to 40 percent this week.
This is particularly negative for DeSantis, given that he did not experience a significant bump in this particular survey last week, either. While critics say Trump’s lead is still smaller than the 43-point lead he held in mid-May, Morning Consult’s Eli Yokley observed that “much of that dip came before DeSantis officially began his bid,” as Breitbart News noted last week.
“Almost 1 in 5 (19%) support DeSantis, nearing an all-time low since tracking began in December,” Yokley noted this week.
No other individual listed came remotely close to Trump. Pence experienced a one-point uptick, going from seven percent support last week to eight percent this week.
Republicans defended former President Donald Trump after the Justice Department handed down news of an indictment Thursday evening. https://t.co/LlwWjxMlKa
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 10, 2023
Sen. Tim Scott also experienced a one-point increase, jumping from three percent to four percent support. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy stayed consistent with two percent support each, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie followed with two percent support — up from one percent last week.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who demanded Trump to “end his campaign” due to the indictment, garnered just one percent support. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who also jumped into the presidential race last week, saw zero percent support.
2024 National Republican Primary
• Trump — 59% (+40)
• DeSantis — 19%
• Pence — 8%
• T. Scott — 4%
• Haley — 3%
• Ramaswamy — 3%
• Christie — 2%
• Hutchinson — 1%Morning Consult | 3,419 RV | 06/09-11 | https://t.co/l71qO5QJDL pic.twitter.com/60vt8KdBr5
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 13, 2023
As has been relatively consistent with previous surveys, a plurality of DeSantis supporters still choose Trump as their second choice candidate (43 percent), and a plurality of Trump supporters choose DeSantis as their second choice candidate as well (43 percent).
The survey also found Trump tied with President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup with 42 percent each. DeSantis, however, trails Biden by four points.
The survey was taken June 9-11, 2023, among 3,419 potential Republican primary voters. It has a +/-2 percent margin of error.
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Centennial Institute/Western Conservative Summit 2023
