Poll: Donald Trump Approaches Majority in South Carolina as Scott Catches DeSantis

Former President Donald Trump sits atop the Republican primary field in South Carolina with a near majority of support, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Sen Tim Scott (R-SC) battle for second place, according to a Trafalgar Group poll. 

The poll, conducted after Trump was indicted in Georgia on August 14, shows that 48 percent of likely GOP primary voters in the Palmetto State back him for the nomination. He sits 34 points ahead of DeSantis and Scott, who register at 14 percent:

New @trafalgar_group #SC #GOP Primary poll:

47.9% @realDonaldTrump
13.8% @rondesantis
13.6% @votetimscott
8.4% @NikkiHaley
6.6% @ChrisChristie
6.4% @VivekGRamaswamy
1.6% @mike_pence
0.2% @larryelder
0.2% @PJQualityGuru
0.2% @RyanBinkley
0.1% @AsaHutchinson
0.1% @DougBurgum
0.1%… pic.twitter.com/w791ZdzatP

— Robert C. Cahaly (@RobertCahaly) August 21, 2023

Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who governed South Carolina from 2011-2017, takes eight percent of the response, followed by former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) at seven percent and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at six percent. 

From there, two percent of respondents back former Vice President Mike Pence, while seven other candidates split just one percent of the vote, and another one percent is undecided. 

The Trafalgar Group sampled 1054 likely GOP primary voters from August 17-19, and the margin of error is ± 2.9 percentage points.

A breakdown of the age demographic shows that a plurality of respondents, 44 percent, are between the ages of 45-64, while another 35 percent are 65 and older. The 35-44 demographic comprised 12 percent of the participants, while another 10 percent are between 18-43. 

Along ethnic lines, nine in ten percent of respondents are white, two percent are black, and two percent are Latino. Moreover, 52 percent of participants are women. 

The poll is consistent with a National Public Affairs survey published on August 15, which showed Trump leading the field with 45 percent as a five-way race unfolded for second place. DeSantis took 13 percent in that poll after sliding five points since June, while Scott and Haley tied at 11 percent. Christie earned seven percent, and Ramaswamy secured five percent.