According to a recent national survey conducted by Fox News, former President Donald Trump has increased his lead in the Republican primary race while President Joe Biden continues to face uncertainty among Democratic primary voters.

The survey asked Republican primary voters to choose from a list of 15 potential candidates for the 2024 nomination. The results showed that Trump has doubled his lead since February and is currently up by 30 points over Ron DeSantis. Last month, Trump was up by 15 points. Mike Pence comes in third with 6%, Liz Cheney and Nikki Haley receive 3% each, and Greg Abbott comes in at 2%. All others receive 1% support or less, and just 3% are unsure. Trump made gains among almost every key demographic except for White men with a college degree, where DeSantis is up by 12 points.

The survey also revealed that 60% of the subgroup of voters who backed Trump in the 2020 general election support him in the GOP primary, while 25% go for DeSantis and 5% for Pence. Trump primary voters would back DeSantis as their second choice, and the Florida governor’s primary voters would do the same for Trump.

Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts Fox News surveys with Democrat Chris Anderson, said that the rumor of Trump being indicted by the district attorney in Manhattan has helped him gain support among Republican primary voters. They view the case as politically motivated and believe that it reanimates feelings that Trump is still fighting forces they see as corrupt and out of control. Trump currently faces a lawsuit in New York regarding potential violations of federal campaign finance laws.

On the other hand, the survey showed that 52% of Democratic primary voters would prefer someone other than Biden as their party’s presidential nominee. This is about the same as last month when 53% of Democratic primary voters felt this way. However, 44% want Biden to be the nominee, up from 37% in February. This 7-point bump comes from the president solidifying support among women, white voters, voters aged 45 and above, and white voters with no degree.

Biden’s current support does not compare to what Trump received in February 2019 when 72% of GOP registered voters wanted to keep him as their nominee or support for former President Barack Obama in 2012 when 81% of Democratic primary voters wanted him to stay. Additionally, Biden’s job rating is underwater by 12 points among registered voters, and his approval among Democrats is near a record low. Moreover, 44% of those Democrats who approve of him want someone else to run, while 50% would keep him.

Despite chatter about electability, both Democratic and Republican primary voters are more concerned about their candidate’s views on the issues than if their nominee can win the general election. 73% of primary voters are more concerned about their candidate’s views on the issues, while only 18% care about their candidate’s ability to win the general election.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)