Former President Donald Trump surged to his largest-ever lead over likely 2024 challenger Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
The poll was one of the first conducted after former President Donald Trump was indicted March 30 over his alleged role in paying hush money to former adult actress Stormy Daniels, according to Yahoo News. It points to a trend of Republican voters seemingly rallying around the only president in American history to face criminal charges.
Since the indictments were handed down, Trump’s favorability numbers have increased, as has his lead over Gov. DeSantis. Trump is lapping DeSantis by 26 percentage points — 57% to 31% — in a one-on-one contest. The former president even attracts majority support (52%, up from 44%) when pitted against a wider, 10-candidate field of declared and potential GOP challengers, while DeSantis plummets to 21% (down from 28%), as reported by Yahoo News.
In the previous Yahoo News/YouGov survey, conducted less than two weeks earlier, Trump (47%) led DeSantis (39%) by eight percentage points in a head-to-head matchup among registered voters who are Republicans or Republican-leaning Independents. As recently as February, it was DeSantis who was narrowly ahead of Trump, 45% to 41%.
The former president was arraigned at a New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, a trial-level court of unlimited original jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System, March 4 and charged with 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. The alleged felony New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg is connecting with the misdemeanors was not disclosed. Bragg claims he does not have to divulge the felony charge. The next scheduled date for Trump to appear in this case is December 4. While federal courts and Congress investigating supposed campaign finance violations declined to bring charges against Trump, Bragg believes he has a case in the State of New York against Trump. Analysts on MSNBC and CNN, including Van Jones, felt Bragg was politically motivated.
“The only crime that I’ve committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump told supporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago home hours after his arraignment (RELATED: KASH PATEL: Did Bragg Unlawfully Use Taxpayer Money For The Bogus Trump Indictment? Congress Needs To Find Out)
While this poll predicts Trump’s triumph in the Republican presidential primary. the indictment could thwart his bid for the White House in the general election against that of President Joe Biden.