Poll: Donald Trump’s Lead over Potential Primary Field Surges After Indictment

Former President Donald Trump’s lead over the rest of the potential Republican presidential primary field has grown nearly 20 percentage points since he was indicted by a grand jury, according to a set of hypothetical polls from the Trafalgar Group.

The latest poll, conducted after the news of Trump’s indictment last week, shows that 56.2 percent of likely GOP primary voters plan to support Trump for the nomination. He sits 33.7 percentage points ahead of his nearest competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), at 22.5 percent of support.

New #GOP presidential primary @trafalgar_group polls show a changing #DonaldTrump lead based on indictment talk and actuality.

+12 before indictment announcement
+14 after indictment announcement
+33 after actual indictment

Report: https://t.co/akUlidWbmB pic.twitter.com/Nqw1XWmppH

— Robert C. Cahaly (@RobertCahaly) April 3, 2023

Trump’s lead has expanded by 19.7 percent compared to another poll conducted among 1,082 respondents between March 22-25. That survey, which was taken after Trump announced he anticipated being arrested based on “illegal leaks” from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office, found Trump at 44.4 percent and DeSantis at 30.4 percent.

Ron DeSantis Breaks Silence on Rumored Trump Indictment:

Ron DeSantis / Rumble

Trump’s lead has grown some 22 percentage points compared to a third Trafalgar poll conducted from March 13-19, before the expectation of an indictment was announced. Trump showed an 11.6 percent advantage over DeSantis, as they registered at 43.8 percent and 32.2 percent, respectively. Trafalgar sampled 1,079 respondents in that poll.

Along with Trump, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) is the only other potential candidate in the hypothetical poll to see a noticeable growth in support following the indictment, climbing to third place with 10.3 percent of support. Only 5.3 percent of respondents said they planned to support Cheney in the mid-March poll.

Cheney: I Will Do Whatever It Takes Including Presidential Run to Stop Trump:

Former Vice President Mike Pence lands in fourth place behind Cheney with 3.8 percent of the response, followed by former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) at 3.7 percent in the latest survey. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), anti-woke entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Gov. Glen Youngkin (R-VA), conservative talk show host Larry Elder, and Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) all hover around or below one percent.

GOP Rival Ramaswamy on “Un-American” Trump Indictment: “We May Be Heading” to a “National Divorce”:

Vivek Ramaswamy / Twitter

The vast majority of respondents say the indictment makes them more likely to support Trump to varying degrees. Of the respondents, 51.9 percent are “much more likely” and 22.1 percent are “more likely” to back the 45th president. The other 26 percent are either “less likely” or “much less likely” to support him.

The latest poll sampled 1,123 likely GOP primary voters from March 31- April 2. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for all three surveys.