Donald Trump gets 29-point lead over Ron DeSantis among Republican primary voters in latest NBC poll

Donald Trump has got a 29-point lead over his rival Ron DeSantis among Republican primary voters in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, according to a new national NBC News poll.

51% voters have chosen Trump as their first choice for the Republican primary for president while only 22% chose DeSantis. In the poll, 7% chose Mike Pence, 4% went for Nikki Haley and the rest percentage went to other candidates.

The poll took place between June 16 – June 20 after a federal grand jury indicted Trump on criminal charges for mishandling secret documents that were discovered at his Mar-a-Lago residence in 2022.

“For the first time in history, a former president has been indicted, and we can’t find a marker in this survey that it’s had an impact with his standing,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates.

“Not only are they sticking with Trump post-federal indictment. there are several signs that his support is growing or others are losing ground, particularly Ron DeSantis,” said Horwitt of Republican voters.

Interestingly, in a similar poll by NBC in April 2023, Trump was at 46% while DeSantis was at 31%, the difference between them being 15-points.

As per the survey, 64% of Republican primary voters believe that the multiple indictments and investigations against Trump are politically motivated. It is down from 68% in April survey after his indictment in New York for his alleged role in a hush-money case.

Moreover, in the poll, nearly half of Republican primary voters(49%) say that Trump should continue as the party’s leader. 21% say that Donald Trump was a good president, but it is time to consider other leaders. 29% say that the Republican Party needs a new leader with better personal behavior and a different approach.