New Poll Shows Where Trump Stands Ahead Of GOP Debate
By Jason Hall
August 21, 2023
Former President Donald Trump reportedly holds a strong lead over the Republican field entering the first GOP presidential candidate debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday (August 23), according to the first NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll conducted by Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer released on Monday (August 21).
Trump currently has a more than 20-point lead over his longtime ally turned rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, among Iowa Republican caucusgoers, which is the largest GOP lead in the poll since former President George W. Bush's eventual win in 2000. The 45th president has a strong lead among self-identified Republicans and evangelical Christians, while two-thirds of respondents believe he didn't commit the crimes he's currently facing multiple indictments for.
The Iowa poll was conducted on the same week that Trump was indicted on state charges in relation to efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss in the state of Georgia, the latest of 91 total felony charges against the former president.
“I think [Trump] delivered on all of his promises. I think he’s a problem solver. And I think that’s what he what he did, and I think he did a great job of it,” said Iowa Republican Bob Siddens, 70, a poll respondent who is supporting the former president, via NBC News.
The poll does, however, show sizable numbers of caucusgoers are strongly considering DeSantis, as well as Sen. Tim Scott, which suggests that there's an opening for those and other candidates to challenge Trump for the nomination. A majority of likely caucusgoers said they still haven't decided on a candidate with five months remaining until the January 15 Iowa caucus, though Trump's strongest supporters remain firmly behind him.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Selzer via NBC News. “We have had candidates who started low and ended up winning.”
Trump has not confirmed whether or not he'll participate in Wednesday's debate, though multiple sources familiar with his plans claim he's planning to be absent and instead participate in an interview with former FOX News host Tucker Carlson.