In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential primaries and caucuses, former President Donald Trump has secured a substantial advantage over his rivals, a Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday revealed.
The poll shows Trump is backed by 67% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters, marking a commanding lead over his competitors.
The survey places former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in second place, sharing the spot with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 11% each. Multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy follows with 4%, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3%.
The poll of 1,844 adults aged 18 and older was conducted from Dec. 14–18. The margin of error is +/- 2.3 percentage points.
The support for Trump and Haley in this poll is notably their highest since Quinnipiac started national surveys on the 2024 GOP presidential primary race in February.
Conversely, this represents a dip for DeSantis, whose support has plummeted from 36% in February.
Among Republican and Republican-leaning voters committed to a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential primary, 50% expressed openness to changing their choice based on developments leading up to the primary. But 48% asserted an unwavering commitment to their preferred candidate regardless of future circumstances.
Shifting to a hypothetical 2024 general election matchup, the poll indicates a virtual dead-heat between President Joe Biden and Trump, with Biden at 47% and Trump at 46%.
Democrats overwhelmingly back Biden at 94% and Republicans support Trump at 93%. Among independents, 46% favor Biden, and 40% support Trump.
The survey extends to three-person and five-person hypothetical general election matchups, introducing independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as well as independent Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. In the three-person matchup, Biden is at 38%, Trump at 36% and Kennedy at 22%. In the five-person scenario, Trump and Biden are each at 38%, followed by Kennedy (16%), with West and Stein at 3% each.
Biden's job approval rating is at 38%, with 58% disapproving, mirroring figures from a Nov. 15 Quinnipiac poll.
Democrats are not divided in their support for potential primary candidates, with Biden leading at 75%, Marianne Williamson at 13%, and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips at 5%.