Poll: Trump Sees Another Boost amid Rumors of Looming Arrest, DeSantis Drops

A supporter of former US President Donald Trump holds a flag near Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump experienced yet another boost this week amid rumors of a looming arrest, the latest Morning Consult survey, released Tuesday, found.

This week’s Morning Consult survey demonstrates gains for the former president, as he now has 54 percent support — up from 52 percent recorded last week. Meanwhile, his closest potential competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, lost two points, going from 28 percent to 26 percent. In other words, Trump’s lead jumped from +24 to +28 in the last week:

No other potential candidate comes close, as former Vice President Mike Pence remained consistent, coming in third place with seven percent support. Presidential candidate Nikki Haley followed with four percent support, and former Rep. Liz Cheney came one point behind with three percent support. No other potential candidate saw greater than one percent support.

Morning Consult described Trump’s lead as such:

Trump Continues to Lead DeSantis: As Trump awaits potential indictment on charges related to a 2016 hush money scheme with adult-film star Stormy Daniels, he has posted one of his largest polling leads in the 2024 Republican primary. The latest survey shows 54% of potential primary voters support the former president, compared with 26% who are backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tying his expected opponent’s lowest level of support since tracking began in December.

As has been relatively consistent in prior surveys, a plurality of DeSantis voters, 43 percent, choose Trump as their second-choice candidate, and 46 percent of Trump voters choose DeSantis as their second choice.

The survey was taken March 17-19, 2023, among 3,394 potential Republican primary voters. Notably, Trump announced the impending arrest on Saturday, March 18, meaning this survey was taken in the midst of that news. However, DeSantis did not weigh in on the issue until Monday, March 20, meaning the survey does not necessarily reflect the GOP’s reaction to DeSantis’s position on the matter.

Many conservatives are frustrated with the governor after he condemned the woke leftist prosecutor Alvin Bragg but ultimately concluded that his administration is “not going to be involved” with a “manufactured circus by some Soros [backed] DA.”

“But what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago, to try to use something about porn star hush money payment,” DeSantis said, concluding that he has “real issues” to deal with in Florida.

WATCH: Ron DeSantis Breaks Silence on Rumored Trump Indictment:
Ron DeSantis / Rumble

That did not sit well with several high-profile Republicans, including Trump’s sons and others:

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