CNN Poll: Donald Trump Maintains Double-Digit Lead in GOP Primary Field Post-Indictment

DES MOINES, IOWA - OCTOBER 09: Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Former President Donald Trump is maintaining his lead in the Republican primary field post-indictment, a recent CNN survey conducted by SSRS found.

The survey asked Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who they would most likely choose to support in the GOP primary field. Choices included Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, radio host Larry Elder, anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Trump leads the field by 21 points, garnering 47 percent support in the crowded field of presidential hopefuls. However, this is six points lower than his 27-point lead last month, when he saw 53 percent support.

However, Trump’s slight dip in the survey is not caused directly by his closest competitor, DeSantis, as the Florida governor has remained the same over the past month, maintaining 26 percent support in both May and June.

Pence comes in a distant third place with nine percent support, up from the six percent he saw in May. Haley follows with five percent support, reflecting a one-point dip from the six percent she garnered in May. Scott has four percent support, up from two percent in May.

Christie comes in with three percent support, up from two percent in May. Every other candidate listed sees one percent support or less.

Despite the one-month dip for Trump, June’s figure still reflects a seven-point increase from the 40 percent support the former president garnered in March. At the time, just four percent separated Trump and DeSantis, the latter of whom saw 36 percent support. In other words, support for DeSantis in this survey has decreased by ten points since March.

The survey also found that most Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are sure of their first-choice candidate, as 59 percent said they would “definitely support” that individual. However, four in ten said they might change their mind.

Additionally, most respondents said they would not consider supporting Christie (61 percent) or Burgum (60 percent) “under any circumstances.”

The survey was taken June 13-17, 2023, among 1,350 respondents and has a +/- 3.4 percent margin of error.

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