- The Washington Times - Monday, August 28, 2023

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Former President Donald Trump saw a drop in support from Republican voters after he skipped the first GOP debate last week, according to a new poll from Emerson College.

Mr. Trump was not among the eight GOP hopefuls who debated in Milwaukee last week, citing his double-digit lead in the polls over his Republican opponents.

The decision may have cost him some support.

The Emerson poll found that 50% of Republican primary voters plan to vote for Mr. Trump, down from his 56%, polled by Emerson prior to the debate.

Mr. Trump’s post-debate support fell to its lowest percentage to date in the Emerson poll.

Three other GOP candidates saw a boost in their support following the debate.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had the biggest jump, from 2% to 7%, the highest she’s ever shown in the Emerson poll. Former Vice President Mike Pence garnered 7% of support, up four percentage points, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sits at 12% support, an increase of two percentage points from prior to the debate.

At 57%, more than half of voters say they will definitely vote for the candidate they selected.

Among those polled, 27% said businessman Vivek Ramaswamy won the debate but he dropped one point, to 9%, among voters polled by Emerson.

“While Trump saw a slight dip in support, the question from this poll is whether this is a blip for Trump or if the other Republican candidates will be able to rally enough support to be competitive for the caucus and primary season,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

Mr. Trump announced before the debate that he would not participate, and instead sat for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The interview was posted on X, formerly Twitter, at the same time as the debate. Mr. Trump has said that he may be skipping future debates.

Mr. Kimball said the poll found Trump voters split between DeSantis at 32% and Ramaswamy at 29%, when Mr. Trump is removed from the ballot. Without Mr. Trump to choose from, 16% picked Mr. Pence.

“Which suggests if Trump was to not run, a race between DeSantis and Ramaswamy could take shape,” Mr. Kimball wrote.

Mr. Trump and President Biden have continuously been the front runners in their respective presidential primaries.

In the Democratic primary, 61% of voters said they back Mr. Biden, which is an eight-point decrease from Emerson’s pre-debate poll. Lawyer and politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saw an increase of three points, to 12% of voter support.

The poll found that regardless of which candidate voters support, 39% expect Mr. Biden to be the winner of the 2024 election, while 37% see Mr. Trump becoming the next president, and 25% expect to see someone else.

The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters between Aug. 25 to 26.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.

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