Donald Trump, the former president, is far ahead of his Republican competitors in the battle for the party’s candidacy in 2024 despite his historic indictment.
According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 58% of Republicans backed Trump. Ron DeSantis, a Republican governor of Florida, was far behind with 21% of the vote.
The survey, which was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, comes right after Trump’s Tuesday arraignment, during which he pled not guilty to 34 counts relating to a payment his then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels in 2016, which was the subject of the survey.
Trump was charged with fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly recording a payment to Cohen as legal fees in fake company records. The case has been mocked by legal experts as being without merit, and Trump himself has called it a political witch hunt.
Ironically, the indictment appears to have helped Trump a little, as his polling ratings have increased significantly over the course of the past week during the judicial procedures. Republicans backed Trump 48% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken on Monday, up 10 points from the previous week.
Some of that increase might be a reflection of Republican opinions on the causes of the case. Republicans reported that 76% believe at least some law enforcement personnel are working against Trump because of politics.
1,004 American adults participated in the study, including 368 Republicans. The Republican sample’s error margin is +/- 6.3%.
