A Wall Street Journal poll released on Saturday showed that former President Donald Trump has maintained his commanding lead against fellow conservatives vying for the GOP presidential nomination.
The poll, which gathered data from 600 Republican primary voters in August, showed that 59% of surveyed voters support Mr. Trump.
The gap between Mr. Trump and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also nearly doubled since the last WSJ poll in April. The former president now holds a 46-point lead over Mr. DeSantis, who garnered support from only 13% of the surveyed voters.
The April poll was much more favorable for Mr. DeSantis, with 37% of surveyed voters throwing their support behind the governor. Though lagging, Mr. DeSantis has consistently polled in second place behind Mr. Trump.
Favorability dropped for the top two candidates in the latest poll — 75% of voters held favorable views of the former president, which is a 3% drop compared to April. Mr. DeSantis slid much more dramatically, dropping to 70% favorability rating compared to an 84% rating just months ago.
Other candidates vying for the nomination have not budged from single-digit polling. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley sits in third place, with 8%.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who was targeted by fellow GOP hopefuls as a “rookie” during last month’s debate, has 5%, while former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has 3%.
Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, and former Vice President Mike Pence both have 2%, while former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum have garnered support from 1% of surveyed voters, respectively.
Mr. Trump’s legal troubles appeared to have not harmed his poll numbers. Over 60% of surveyed voters felt that the four indictments and 91 criminal charges against the former president were politically motivated, while 48% were more likely to support Mr. Trump because of the charges.
And if the presidential election were today, Mr. Trump and President Biden would be neck and neck with 46% each. A larger pool of 1,500 surveyed voters still showed the pair in a tight race, with 40% in favor of Mr. Trump compared to 39% supporting Mr. Biden.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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