A poll shows that Donald Trump is on track to secure the Republican presidential nomination ahead of next year’s election, with prospective voters showing little fear that Trump’s escalating legal difficulties will hinder his likely return to the White House.
Trump is the candidate picked by 61% of self-identified Republican voters, the Reuters/Ipsos poll of over 1,700 people published on Monday showed, as he retains a wide margin over the pursuing field less than a year out from the presidential election.
The legally embattled, 77-year-old former president is a full 50 percentage points ahead of nearest rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who both trail in Trump’s wake with just 11%. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie polled at 5% and 2% respectively, the poll says.
The results reflect little appetite in Republican voting ranks for the field of candidates who have participated in four primary debates so far. Trump has not, as yet, appeared on the debating circuit.
The poll also reveals that Republican supporters remain enthusiastic about a second Trump term in office, despite a slew of federal and state charges alleging a variety of improprieties. These include ongoing allegations that Trump attempted to fraudulently reverse the results of his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden.
Other charges against Trump include the alleged illegal keeping of sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. He is also accused of impeding official efforts to recover them. He refutes any allegations of illegality.
According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, less than a quarter of Republican respondents interviewed believed Trump had sought electoral fraud or was involved in inciting his supporters to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Both of these problems are key to a federal criminal case that is likely to go to trial during Trump’s presidential campaign.
A different poll, the findings of which were published on Saturday by the Wall Street Journal, revealed that Trump has gained a lead over Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup. 47% of respondents said they would vote for Trump, while 43% said they would vote for Biden.
However, the same poll found that a criminal conviction for Trump would have a significant impact on the campaign.
