Former President Donald Trump grabs the majority of Republican voters in Iowa with just five weeks until the state’s caucus, a new poll shows.
Mr. Trump holds 51% of Republican voters, according to an NBC News/Des Moines Register poll released Monday. His lead in Iowa rose by 8 points from 43% in the same poll in October.
“The field may have shrunk, but it may have made Donald Trump even stronger. I would call his lead commanding,” J. Ann Selzer, the Iowa pollster behind the poll, told NBC.
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Mr. Trump now beats Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has 19%, by 32 points in the new poll. Mr. DeSantis gained 3 points since the October poll.
In the new poll, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley captured 16% of the support from Republican voters, which is the same as what she got in October. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy took 5%, a 1-point improvement from October. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received 4%, which hasn’t changed since the previous poll and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson maintained his 1% share of the vote.
Mr. DeSantis also sees 30% of Republicans saying he would be their second choice, with 18% actively considering him. Ms. Haley is the second choice for 17%, while 19% say they’re actively considering her.
There’s only a 3-point difference between Republican caucus voters who have their minds made up (49%) and those who say they can still be persuaded (46%).
The majority of supporters for Mr. Trump — 70% — say their mind is made up, while 30% say they could still be persuaded. Only 34% say their mind is made up for Mr. DeSantis, and 34% for Ms. Haley.
The Iowa poll was conducted Dec. 2-7 with 502 likely Republican caucusgoers. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
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