Posted on 05/25/2023 9:48:21 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
An abortive rally and an expanding field of challengers hasn’t hurt Donald Trump’s standing in Iowa, according to a new poll from Emerson College. In results released Thursday morning, 62% of Republican voters indicated they would choose Trump as the party’s nominee, giving the former president a 3-to-1 margin over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who clocked in at 20%. Mike Pence and Nikki Haley are tied for third with 5%.
DeSantis, who formally declared his run Wednesday during a Twitter livestream with Elon Musk, has long been considered the most significant challenger to Trump for the GOP nomination, but the gap between the two has been expanding. Although the governor made a pair of widely covered visits to Iowa earlier this month, any corresponding boost in the polls has yet to materialize. The Emerson survey places him about on par with the current RCP national average.
Nonetheless, the DeSantis campaign may have exposed a fault line within the GOP’s base. The new poll found that although Trump was preferred by Republican voters across the board, he was especially favored by those under the age of 35 (75%) and without a college degree (70%). DeSantis is much closer among Republicans with a postgraduate degree.
The poll found that either candidate would beat President Biden handily in Iowa if the election were held today. A rematch between Trump and Biden shows a 49%-38% Trump lead in the Hawkeye State, with 10% voting third party and 6% undecided. DeSantis leads Biden 45%-38%.
Despite this — and despite a meager 35% job approval rating in the state — Iowa Democrats remain united behind Biden. Emerson found 69% of them ready to support his reelection in 2024. Environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. comes in a distant second at 11%.
The survey also showed that the top concern among Iowans is the economy, with 31% of all voters citing it as the most important issue facing their state. This was followed by education (15%), “threats to democracy” (15%), immigration (10%), abortion access (9%), and health care (8%).
Election integrity continues to be an especially divisive issue. Although the majority of those polled stated that Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was legitimate, 46% of Iowa voters — including 43% of independents — said it was not. There was, predictably, a split along party lines: 91% of Democrats believe the election results to be sound, and 78% of Republicans do not.
Iowans are also anxious for their state’s caucus to retain its first-in-the-nation status, a roughly 50-year-old tradition that has cemented Iowa as a cornerstone of the American political landscape and transformed the sparsely populated, rural state into a kind of presidential power broker. Its status has been threatened this year following a move by Democrats to swap Iowa with South Carolina in their primary lineup.
About three-fourths of voters found it “very” (40%) or “somewhat” (34%) important that Iowa keep its perch as first in the nation. Republicans were particularly animated by the issue, with 86% saying it was important.
Voters in Iowa are also divided, though less informed, when it comes to the looming prospect of America’s first-ever default on its national debt. Half of them (49%) are against raising the debt ceiling, compared to 36% in favor, with 16% unsure.
The one area where Iowans from both parties unequivocally agreed? The need for televised presidential debates. A whopping 92% of all caucus voters found that participation in debates was important prior to making a decision. Trump has cited his poll numbers as proof that he need not debate with any of his party’s numerous upstart candidates. Iowans do not agree.
Emerson’s poll was conducted May 19-23 among 1,064 registered voters. The margin of error is roughly 2.9 percentage points.
The more challengers, all the better for him. Attention to him will not be divided, but attention among the challengers will be.
Why isn’t he running back to reschedule his big rally there, then?
This is not surprising at all...it’s what I hear every day. Our amazing Governor may well be his VP choice, and I will be very sad to see her leave.
Yes, taken before DeSantis entered the race. Meaningless. Let’s come back and check in a few weeks. How about?
Not really a surprise as they are targeting the same voters bc Ron is too much of a pussy to take on DT directly.
The smart candidates will either try to pick off evangelicals (which should be easy to do given Trump’s various trysts) and/or moderates and others who are never-Trumpers or just not fans.
Ron is basically Trump-lite without the baggage. But Trump voters love Trump and don’t care about the baggage. So he’s not going to convert them.
There are only 2 types that can seriously challenge Trump: (1) Positive vision a la Reagan (Bush 43 also did this well) or (2) Go face-to-face with Trump in the mud/ring. Nobody had the guts to do that last cycle because they were too afraid of his base or thought they could stay above the fray. But those dogs don’t hunt.
GWB was a “play”. He was the “most conservative Governor EVER”...trust us!
A year or two before the primary, he signed the most conservative bills ever seen on the issues of the day. He was “nothing like his father”, we were assured.
I volunteered hundreds of hours of my time, as a very naive young woman, to his election campaign, hoping to return to the happy days of Ronald Reagan’s America first values. You know what happened next..
These are the same Ivy League people, doing the same thing, hoping to fool another generation.
They're united behind the cabal that controls the Biden meat puppet. They don't know who those puppeteers are, but they're pleased with the results.
That’s a bingo! I am voting for President Trump again.
#peakmeatball
I doubt it's ""meaningless" to DeSantis and his team:
.
The dems are looking to re-elect Biden/Harris in the march
to elected the first female President. The electoral population
is ever changing since Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.
“Iowa Poll: Trump Holds 3-to-1 Lead Over DeSantis”
Looks like we’re now using Ratios, rather than percentages.
Makes sense to me, considering the level of collapse by DeSantis.
They are easy to identify here. They are still wearing masks.
I’ve been a fan of Trump and still am but if Trump picks RDS as VP I’m out. Pence 2.0 doesn’t hunt with me. Ron is the bathroom wedgie kid.I’m team Vivek VP.
This will be interesting to watch unfold. DeSantis seems to be going to run the first Twitter POTUS campaign. Elon Musk is providing him the coattails and potential donations from his 141M global followers. Elon has been in vocal opposition to the Obamaoist, now he is openly funding a direct challenge. Look for more government interference coming in his life.
Unfortunately, this campaign strategy just brings more international influence into the race.
You mean to tell me Iowa has four Republican voters? I never thought there were that many.
Cult-member. Get help.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
