Trump Lead Widens After Second GOP Presidential Debate: Poll

Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

Former President Donald Trump has additional solidified his lead within the Republican presidential major, following the second GOP debate on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.

“63% of potential Republican primary voters support Donald Trump for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, up from 58% in our survey released Monday ahead of the latest primary debate,” Morning Consult stated in its survey launched on Sept. 29.

In comparability, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, seen as Mr. Trump’s greatest rival, noticed his assist dip from 15 p.c to 12 p.c after the second debate, although the Florida governor remains to be in second place.

[ZH: According to PredictIt, the figures look even worse for DeSantis…]

The survey, which polled 1,183 potential GOP major voters, was carried out on Sept. 28, at some point after the second debate, which Trump didn’t attend. Instead, he spent the controversy evening in battleground Michigan, delivering a speech to hanging auto employees.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley each misplaced 2 proportion factors because the debate. Mr. Ramaswamy is at 9 p.c and Ms. Haley is at 5 p.c.

Former Vice President Mike Pence misplaced one proportion level and is at 5 p.c. Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) didn’t see any change after the controversy, remaining at 2 p.c.

“This data reinforces our view that Trump is in the driver’s seat of the Republican primary, and that Trump-less debates aren’t having much of an impact on the other candidates’ national support, and may in fact be helping the former president,” the survey concludes.

In August, Morning Consult discovered that the assist for President Trump went unchanged at 58 p.c after he skipped the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee. Instead of attending the controversy, the previous president aired a pre-recorded interview he did with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

The second debate, which was aired on Fox News Channel and Fox Business, drew 3.5 million fewer viewers than the primary debate.

Even with the absence of President Trump, the seven GOP presidential contenders didn’t make a breakthrough within the second debate, as they argued over topics together with China, the border disaster, crime, fentanyl, and training.

Mr. Ramaswamy completed third with 18 p.c saying they have been extra prone to assist him, forward of Mr. Pence with 16 p.c, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 15 p.c, and Mr. Scott with 14 p.c.

Following the second debate, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to President Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign, urged the Republican National Committee (RNC) to cancel future debates.

“Tonight’s GOP debate was as boring and inconsequential as the first debate, and nothing that was said will change the dynamics of the primary contest being dominated by President Trump,” Mr. LaCivita said on Sept. 27.

Mr. LaCivita added, “The RNC should immediately put an end to any further primary debates so we can train our fire on Crooked Joe Biden and quit wasting time and money that could be going to evicting Biden from the White House.”

According to Mr. LaCivita, Mr. Trump has no plans to attend future GOP presidential debates, after skipping the primary two. The third debate is ready to happen in Miami on Nov. 8.

The former president is scheduled to host the Iowa Commit to Caucus occasion in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Oct. 1.

“Just landed in the Great State of Iowa,” President Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on early Sunday. “Remember, I got the farmers 28 Billion Dollars from China. Nobody else would have even thought of doing that, and if they did, wouldn’t have been able to get it done!”

The former president was additionally in Iowa on Sept. 20, when he told supporters in Dubuque that he would use troops to safe the southern border if reelected.