Opinion
In early November, a New York Times poll showed Donald Trump leading in toss up battleground states that are crucial to Joe Biden. Another poll released last week showed Trump still outperforming Biden. And yet another poll shows that Trump’s lead has widened even further. Fox News reports that Trump’s support stands at 69% in the primary race, up 7 points since November and 26 points since February. Ron DeSantis receives 12% support, Nikki Haley gets 9%, Vivek Ramaswamy 5%, Chris Christie 2%, and Asa Hutchinson 1%. In hypothetical general election matchups against President Joe Biden, Haley is ahead by 6 points, while Trump is up by 4. When third-party candidates are included, Trump’s edge over the president remains at 4 points, with Biden getting 37% to Trump’s 41%. It’s believed that Democrats will fall into freak out mode and the former president’s multiple indictments leading to legal trouble. During a campaign stop in Coralville, Trump celebrated the success of his recent polling numbers while also criticizing his fellow Republican candidates. “We are leading by a lot, but you have to go out and vote,” Trump said. “Sometimes when you’re leading by a lot, everyone says, ‘Oh, why should I go and vote?’ The margin of victory is so important — and frankly, bad things are going to be happening if you don’t.” He went on to dismiss rumors of a “Haley surge,” claiming that the only person that she is “surging” against is DeSantis. “They’re talking about the Haley surge, where she goes up 2 points, I go up, I think 10 points — under 10 points,” Trump said. “They (should) say, ‘That’s a Trump surge,’ but they don’t want to say that. … These are the most dishonest people ever in our country.”
