Trump Leads GOP Field in Iowa as DeSantis Fades 6 Points in 3 Weeks

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the Iowa State Fairgr
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump leads Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) by nearly 30 points in Iowa as the Florida governor’s support continues to wane, according to a National Research Inc. survey conducted for American Greatness. 

The poll published on Tuesday shows that 42 percent of likely Republican Iowa caucusgoers support Trump, placing him 27 points ahead of DeSantis at 15 percent.

DeSantis has lost six points of support compared to when he pinged at 21 percent in a July 5-6 survey from the pollster, while Trump has dropped two points. Overall, DeSantis’s support has dwindled 11 percent since the first poll conducted on May 11-12. 

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) continues to gain on the Florida governor, as he has since early May, registering at nine percent. This marks a two-point increase since earlier this month.

Scott also enjoyed success in both a Fox Business poll released on Sunday, showing him at ten percent in South Carolina, and in a University of New Hampshire poll last week, where he earned eight percent of support in the Granite State. 

National Research Inc. finds that entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has begun to surge in national polls, has also climbed two points in recent weeks. He holds five percent of backing among likely caucusgoers and lands in fourth place. 

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) has four percent of support, followed by former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), who tie at three percent in this latest poll. Former Vice President Mike Pence takes the final spot with just two percent of backing. 

Over six in ten of the those surveyed think Trump is best fitted to “improve” the economy versus just thirteen percent who say DeSantis is the better man for the job. Similarly, pluralities say the 45th president is “the strongest candidate to oppose far-left progressives,” the best hope to beat President Joe Biden, and that he is the candidate that cares most about their “needs and concerns.”

The poll sampled 500 likely Republican caucus participants in Iowa from July 23-24. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.38 parentage points.

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