As former President Donald Trump continues to dominate national and state polls in the Republican primaries, lagging Republican candidates are investing their time, energy and money in the Iowa caucuses.
Candidate and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) saying last week that for his campaign, “it’s Iowa or nothing,” while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved a large portion of his campaign staff to the Hawkeye State in an attempt to gain some early momentum and keep alive his presidential candidacy in difficulties. Meanwhile, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is gaining ground in Iowa as the caucuses approach.
But according to the latest polls, Iowa voters still widely favor Trump as their first-choice candidate as the calendar moves closer to the Jan. 15 caucuses.
According to a Iowa St./Civiqs Poll Of 425 likely caucus attendees chosen between October 6 and 10, Trump was the first choice among 55% of them, while DeSantis was at 17%, Haley at 11%, technology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was at 5% and Scott was at 4%. . For caucusgoers’ second choice, DeSantis led with 22%, ahead of Haley (18%), Ramaswamy (16%), Scott (13%) and Trump (8%).
Trump’s lead in Iowa wasn’t that big, latest report says survey conducted by the Des Moines Register and NBC News. That poll, conducted between Oct. 22 and Oct. 26, found that 43% of caucusgoers chose the former president as their first choice, while DeSantis and Haley tied at 16% in what pollsters said was a big win for Haley, the former US ambassador in the Haley’s strong performance in the poll was bolstered by independents, 22% of whom chose her as their first choice compared to 12% who chose DeSantis. Trump leads among independents with 33% considering him their first choice.
DeSantis was the leading candidate for second choice, according to the poll, as 27% of likely caucusgoers said the Florida governor is their second choice compared to 17% who marked Haley as their second choice.
There was more good news for Trump in the Des Moines Register/NBC News poll, which found that nearly two-thirds of Republican caucusgoers who chose Trump said they were determined to vote for him as their first-choice candidate. Only 30% of DeSantis voters and 26% of Haley voters said they had made up their minds, while 70% of DeSantis voters and 74% of Haley supporters said they were still within reach. persuade them to vote for someone else as their first choice candidate.
While the superficial poll didn’t look great for DeSantis’ campaign, there was one bright spot for the Florida governor. According to the poll, DeSantis has the same “footprint of support in Iowa” as Trump. The Des Moines Register wrote: “Likely Republican caucusgoers were asked what their first choice for president was, his second choice and which of the other Republican candidates they were actively considering. The total represents a candidate’s total footprint of support in Iowa, where likely caucusgoers often weigh several candidates before zeroing in on their choice for Caucus Day.”
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Both Trump and DeSantis had a 67% footprint, Haley had 54%, Scott had 49%, and Ramaswamy had 32%. But with 63% of Trump voters saying they are determined to support the former president, lagging candidates have a lot of ground to make up even to make the Iowa race competitive on January 15.
The real clear policy average of Iowa polls show Trump (48.8%) leading DeSantis (17.3%) by 31.5 percentage points. Haley (11.5%) ranks third in the state, ahead of Scott (6.0%) and Ramaswamy (5.3%).
