Leading to jail....

Trump dominates GOP field, leads DeSantis by 37 points, poll says

The results underscore Trump’s iron grip on the Republican electorate.

By MATT BERG

Former President Donald Trump holds a massive 37-percentage point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential field, a new New York Times/Siena College poll found.

Trump dominated the poll released on Monday, with 54 percent of likely voters surveyed supporting him. DeSantis followed far behind with 17 percent, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley each with three percent.

The results underscore Trump’s iron grip on the Republican electorate even as he faces numerous lawsuits and charges. The survey is also further proof of the deep hole that DeSantis, seen for months as Trump’s most formidable competitor, must climb out of amid a campaign shakeup.

Asked by a POLITICO reporter on Sunday how he plans to go after Trump, DeSantis claimed that the former president’s insults have helped boost his popularity.

“When he hits me with the juvenile insults, I think that helps me. I don’t think voters like that,” DeSantis said. “I actually don’t mind it at all. I think it’s just a reminder why there’s so many millions of voters who will never vote for him going forward.”

Trump’s dominance in the new poll extends to nearly every corner of the GOP electorate. The former president led the field in favorability among men and women, younger and older voters, college-educated and those who didn’t attend, moderates and conservatives, and those who live in cities versus rural and suburban areas.

The poll surveyed 1,329 registered voters across the country from July 23-27, including an oversample of 818 registered Republican voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.67 percentage points for registered voters and plus or minus 3.96 percentage points for likely voters in the Republican primary.