Trump maintains a huge lead in Iowa five weeks before the caucuses that begin the Republican race: survey

Former President Trump is widening his already formidable lead in the state leading the Republican presidential nominating calendar, according to a highly regarded new poll.

The former president has 51% support among those likely to participate in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a distant second at 19%, and former United Nations ambassador and former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, with 16%. percent, according to the latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll.

The poll, conducted Dec. 2-7, was released Monday, with five weeks left until the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses.

Trump’s lead over the rest of the rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination, which has widened by five points since October, is the largest recorded so close to a competitive Republican caucus in the history of the poll, which many consider victory . standard Iowa caucus polls.

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J. Ann Selzer, the pollster who has conducted the survey for the past three decades, noted the recent shrinking of the once-large Republican presidential field, noting that “the field may have shrunk, but it may have made Donald Trump even stronger.” I would say his leadership is dominant right now.”

Trump is aiming for a big victory next month in the caucuses to try to bring the nomination race to an early conclusion so he can focus on a rematch with President Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 election.

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Trump’s large double-digit lead in the poll is due in part to strong support from evangelical voters – who enjoy enormous influence in Iowa Republican politics – and likely first-time caucus attendees. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of Iowa Republicans who believe Trump can defeat Biden in next year’s general election – despite the former president’s numerous legal challenges – back Trump.

Trump made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be charged with a crime, but his four indictments, including in federal court in Washington, D.C. and in Fulton County Court in Georgia, on charges of who attempted to overturn his 2020 presidential election election defeat – have only increased his support among Republican voters.

Former President Trump speaks during a Commitment to the Caucus rally on Saturday, December 2, 2023 in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Matthew Putney)

The new Iowa poll is also the latest to suggest that Trump supporters are more enthusiastic and committed to supporting their candidate than those who back the former president’s Republican rivals.

As Fox News first reported last week, the Trump campaign said it was accelerating its momentum in the final weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

“We have an extremely aggressive operation and an extremely aggressive timeline,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital.

LaCivita anticipated that the Trump campaign is planning a series of visits to Iowa not only of the former president, but also of “dozens of surrogates who are going to break into the state campaign… in every place that has people.”

He said there were “about 1,500 to 1,600 precinct captains across the state who literally their only job is to run every single caucus that is held and make sure that the list of specific voters who support President Trump come up.”

Trump’s campaign said it was taking nothing for granted. Looking ahead to the final stretch before the electoral assemblies, LaCivita said that “our only concern is complacency.”

Meanwhile, DeSantis met his goal of stopping in all 99 Iowa counties earlier this month. He has repeatedly been joined on the campaign trail in the Hawkeye State by popular Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has endorsed him at the beginning of November.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arrives at the Family Leader Thanksgiving Family Forum, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Also endorsing DeSantis was Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, an influential conservative social organization in the state.

DeSantis has repeatedly promised to pull off an upset by winning Iowa.

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Haley, who has enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to her well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, has overtaken DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which is holding the first primary and votes second in the elections. Republican nomination calendar and his home state, celebrating the first race in the South.

He also intends to fight in Iowa, where the new poll is the latest to suggest he is close to tying DeSantis for second place.

Former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, 2024 Republican presidential candidate, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in Newton, Iowa, on November 17, 2023. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Two weeks ago, Haley secured the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and wealthy fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help the Republican Party overtake Trump.

The new NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Poll indicates that billionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has 5% support in Iowa. Ramaswamy, who has spent millions of his own money on his campaign, has predicted he will pull off an “upset” in Iowa, where he has spent a lot of time reaching out to voters.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is making his second run for the White House, has 4% support in the poll. However, Christie has not campaigned in the Hawkeye State, as he focuses most of his time and resources on New Hampshire.

The poll also shows former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson at 1%. Hutchinson remains in the 2024 race even after failing to take the stage in the last three Republican presidential nomination debates.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more in our Fox News Digital Election Center.