Donald Trump maintains strong lead in Iowa as Republican rivals struggle

Washington, DC [US], December 11 (ANI): With five weeks until the Republican nomination contest, a recent poll reveals that neither Florida Governor Ron DeSantis nor former UN ambassador Nikki Haley have made significant gains against former President Donald Trump in Iowa, The Washington Post reported.
The NBC News-Des Moines Register-Mediacom Iowa poll conducted from December 2-7 shows Trump's first-choice support at 51 per cent, up from 43 per cent in October. DeSantis and Haley trail at 19 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, with little change since October.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy secured 5 per cent, Chris Christie 4 per cent, and Asa Hutchinson 1 per cent in the recent poll, according to the report.
Trump's lead, the largest recorded close to a competitive caucus, is driven by support from evangelical Christians (51 per cent), Republicans (59 per cent), first-time caucus-goers (63 per cent), and White men without degrees (66 per cent). Trump's support is weakest among those with college degrees (39 per cent), independents (36 per cent), and suburban residents (36 per cent). About 70 per cent of Trump supporters polled say their minds are made up.
Trump's dominance in Iowa persists despite his absence from some traditional campaign events, defiance of Iowa campaign traditions, and criticism of the state's Republican governor. He faces legal challenges, including 91 felony charges across four cases, which he denies.
Seventy-three percent of likely caucus-goers believe Trump can win against President Biden, up from 65 per cent in October. The number who think Trump's legal challenges make victory nearly impossible decreased from 32 per cent in October to 24 per cent in the latest poll.
The poll of 502 likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, was conducted Dec. 2-7. The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for January 15, The Washington Post reported.
Moreover, Trump is not only leading his GOP rivals, a recent CNN poll suggested that the former President has the upper hand over President Joe Biden in two critical battleground states - Michigan and Georgia.
The poll conducted by SSRS has also found that the broad majorities in the two states have negative views of Biden's job performance, policy positions and sharpness.
In Georgia -- a state Biden carried by a very narrow margin in 2020 -- registered voters say they prefer Trump (49 per cent) over Biden (44 per cent) for the presidency in a two-way hypothetical matchup.
In Michigan -- which Biden won by a wider margin -- Trump has 50 per cent support to Biden's 40 per cent, while 10 per cent said they wouldn't support either candidate even after being asked which way they lean.
In both Michigan and Georgia, the share of voters who say they wouldn't support either candidate is at least as large as the margin between Biden and Trump. (ANI)