As the first Republican to announce candidacy for the nomination for president in the 2024 race, former President Donald Trump has received a major portion of Republican nods in the polls since November when he made his announcement.
Trump has remained the top candidate since, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in next place but well below, and followed by an array of others including former vice president Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
The only other candidate to formally declare a campaign at this time in addition to Trump is Haley.
Grassroots factors are beginning to appear regarding the candidates.
The train derailment and subsequent environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, was mostly ignored by federal authorities for three weeks, with only EPA representatives arriving to assess the situation.
President Joe Biden chose to leave the country on a sudden trip rather than visit the site, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg did not visit the site until after Trump had declared his intention to visit, scheduled the visit, and actually made the visit to the site.
Trump not only visited the site of the train disaster and the residents of East Palestine, but he also brought with him thousands of bottles of drinking water, canned food, and thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies for the townsfolk.
He took all first responders to McDonald’s for a meal and did all of this before any current federal department head set foot in the town.
Trump’s visit was widely covered by the media, and though liberal media tried to make the visit a “photo op” the fact that he was there and helping others while Biden and Buttigieg were not was not lost on the majority of Americans.
A new poll released today shows Donald Trump continuing to expand his lead over other prospective Republican presidential candidates.
The poll, conducted by Emerson College, shows that a whopping 55% of registered Republican voters chose Trump as their preferred candidate.
This continues a trend seen in Emerson’s January poll, where Trump also had 55% of the vote, DC Enquirer reports.
The poll also shows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in second place with 25%, former Vice President Mike Pence in third with 8%, Nikki Haley (who is the only candidate in this poll besides Trump who has announced a candidacy) in fourth with 5%, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott in fifth with 2%.
This poll continues to show what is becoming a consistent trend among Republican primary voters; Trump is the clear frontrunner.
2024 National Republican Primary
• Donald Trump — 55%
• Ron DeSantis — 25%
• Mike Pence — 8%
• Nikki Haley — 5%
• Tim Scott — 2%
• Kristi Noem — 1%
• Mike Pompeo — 1%
• Larry Hogan — 1%
• Chris Sununu — 0.4%@EmersonPolling | Feb 24-25 | RVshttps://t.co/62jqHsNtNP pic.twitter.com/kW4fcaMVlT— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) February 28, 2023
The DC Enquirer continues:
In a poll conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, Trump had the support of 42% of primary voters. DeSantis remained in second with 26%, while Nikki Haley garnered only 6% of the vote. It is noteworthy to analyze the timing of the two polls. The McLaughlin poll was conducted prior to Trump’s visit to East Palestine, Ohio last week (February 17-23), while the Emerson poll was conducted after Trump’s visit to East Palestine (Feb. 24-25).
Trump’s visit was viewed as a great political move to showcase the lack of awareness and focus of the Biden administration.
Trump provided supplies to the city, interacted with residents and local officials, and purchased food for ordinary people, as well as the police and fire departments of the city, all while emphasizing the notable absence of President Biden.
This action by Trump has no doubt contributed to his boost in the polls, with the public getting to see Trump arguably at his best. The question now is what, if anything, can confirmed candidates such as Nikki Haley, and prospective candidates, such as Ron DeSantis, do to chip away at the Republican frontrunner lead. With over double the support of Gov. DeSantis in a hypothetical primary matchup, it would be an uphill battle to attempt to beat out the 45th president.
A FOX News poll of 1,006 registered voters nationwide found Trump leading DeSantis 43 percent to 28 percent in a hypothetical match-up between the two, the Hill reported.
Republican strategists say the poll shows Trump is “more resilient than many party insiders expected,” the Hill wrote.
“I think Trump’s position is stronger than I thought it was,” said Vin Weber, a GOP strategist and former member of the House GOP leadership.
He cited reports that Trump has put together a superior campaign operation. “I think the Republicans that proceed on the assumption that Donald Trump will not be our candidate are taking a huge risk, Weber said.
Biden, in his absence, also made headlines for professing “heartfelt” admiration in person for Ukrainian President Zelensky on United States President’s Day rather than being in the United States taking care of citizens and honoring former presidents.
Trump, on the other hand, was honoring his position as one of those former presidents by helping citizens in their time of need. It comes as no surprise that citizens would take note.
