Former US President Donald Trump has expanded his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the rest of the Republican presidential field since Trump’s latest indictment on federal criminal charges, a new national NBC News poll finds.
51% of national Republican primary voters picked Trump as their first choice in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, followed by 22% who chose DeSantis, 7% who selected former Vice President Mike Pence and 5% who named former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
No other Republican candidate gets more than 4% support.
Trump’s 29-point lead over DeSantis in a multi-candidate field is an increase from April’s NBC News poll, when 46% preferred Trump as their first choice versus 31% who picked DeSantis. That survey was conducted soon after the former president was indicted in New York for his alleged role in a hush-money case.
When the GOP presidential race gets reduced to just two candidates in the current survey, Trump gets support from 60% of Republican primary voters, while DeSantis gets 36%.
A combined 77% of GOP primary voters say the federal charges against Trump in the classified document case give them either minor concerns (14%) or no real concerns at all (63%).
That is compared with 55% of all registered voters who say the charges give them either major concerns (47%) or moderate concerns (8%).
64% of Republican primary voters believe that the multiple indictments and investigations Trump faces are politically motivated, and they say they must support him to stop his opponents from winning.
The NBC News poll also finds nearly half of Republican primary voters — 49% — say that Trump should continue as the party’s leader. These voters overwhelmingly pick Trump as their first choice on a primary ballot.
Another 21% say it’s time to consider other leaders, even though they believe Trump was a good president. A majority of these voters pick DeSantis as their first choice, yet Trump also gets support from 1 out of 5 in this group.
29% say the GOP needs a new leader with better personal behavior and an approach different from Trump’s. This group’s support is spread among DeSantis, Pence, Christie and other candidates.
The NBC News poll also tested a hypothetical general-election matchup between Trump and President Biden.
Biden gets support from 49% of registered voters, while Trump gets 45%. Biden’s 4-point lead is within the poll’s margin of error.
At the same time, majorities of all registered voters have concerns about both Biden and Trump, according to the poll.
68% of voters are concerned that Biden doesn’t have the necessary mental and physical health to be president, including 55% who say they have “major” concerns.
That’s compared with 55% who say they have concerns about Trump’s mental and physical health, including 44% who have major concerns.
60% of voters are concerned about Biden being re-elected and serving another four years in the White House, including 46% who say they have major concerns.
58% say they’re concerned about Trump being elected again and serving another four years, including 51% who have major concerns.