In just over a month, Iowa voters will head to the nation’s first 2024 Republican presidential caucus — a hard-to-predict forum that has led to many election night surprises over the years.
In 2024, however, the outcome seems far more certain.
Former President Donald Trump boasts a historically large lead in the latest Iowa poll, released Monday.
A narrowing Republican primary field has bolstered Trump’s support, the poll claimed.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has failed to capitalize after her post-debate momentum surge in the Hawkeye State, remaining flat at 16 percent.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gained slightly from October, up 3 points to 19 percent support after gaining the endorsement of popular Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in early November.
But both campaigns are dwarfed by the 45th president.
According to the poll — which surveyed 500 likely Republican voters and was conducted by NBC News and The Des Moines Register — Trump has surged eight points from October, from 43 percent to 51 percent.
Trump’s lead has grown so large it has become historic. No poll has ever registered a large of a lead this close to an open Republican or Democratic presidential caucus.
Trump’s support is largely fueled by evangelical voters, “as well as by nearly three-quarters of Republicans who believe Trump can defeat President Joe Biden next year despite the legal challenges the former president faces,” NBC News reported.
“The field may have shrunk, but it may have made Donald Trump even stronger than he was,” J. Ann Selzer, the president of of Selzer & Co. which conducted the Iowa Poll, told The Des Moines Register.
“I would call his lead commanding at this point,” she said. “There’s not much benefit of fewer candidates for either Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley.”
Outside the top three, Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy held 5 percent support while former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who hasn’t campaigned in Iowa, held just 4 percent according to the poll.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson held just 1 percent support, while Pastor Ryan Binkley didn’t register any. 2 percent of voters answered “None of these” while 3 percent said “Not sure.”
But don’t take our word for it. What is your vote?
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