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Donald Trump doubles poll lead over Ron DeSantis

Donald Trump - REUTERS
Donald Trump - REUTERS

Donald Trump has doubled his lead over Ron DeSantis in the race for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination.

Mr Trump's surge to go 30 points clear came after it emerged he was on the brink of being criminally charged over a hush money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels, with whom he denies having an affair.

In the poll by Fox News, Republican primary voters were asked to choose from a list of 15 potential contenders.

The results showed 54 per cent backed Mr Trump, while 24 per cent supported his nearest rival Mr DeSantis, the Florida governor.

Mr Trump doubled his lead compared with the same poll in February, when he led Mr DeSantis by 43 per cent to 28 per cent.

It came after a Republican backlash at the prospect of Mr Trump being charged with campaign finance violations over the $130,000 payment to Ms Daniels before the 2016 election.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, has been pursuing an investigation that Mr Trump has dismissed as a politically-motivated "witch hunt".

The former president announced on March 19 that he could be arrested, leading to a blaze of publicity about the case.

The latest poll was conducted between March 24 and 27.

Ron DeSantis - AP
Ron DeSantis - AP

Mr Trump has also ratcheted up his attacks on Mr DeSantis in recent weeks, accusing him of wanting to cut social security and raise the retirement age.

He has also called his rival "Ron DeSanctimonious" and a "mediocre governor," and claimed credit for getting him elected in Florida.

The former president said the new poll "shows Ron DeSanctimonious being absolutely crushed and, more importantly, dropping like a rock!"

It was one of several recent polls indicating Mr Trump has extended his lead over Mr DeSantis, who has yet to declare his candidacy but is widely expected to run.

A Quinnipiac poll this week of Republican and Republican-leaning voters showed Mr Trump leading his rival by 47 per cent to 33 per cent.

A Morning Consult poll earlier this month gave Mr Trump a lead of 54 per cent to 26 per cent.

No other candidates close

In the Fox News poll, no other candidate was in double figures.

Mike Pence, Mr Trump's vice president, was in third place on six per cent, and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina Governor, who has declared her candidacy, was next on three per cent.

The one bright spot for Mr DeSantis was that his support among white men with a college degree went up 12 percentage points from the previous month.

Daron Shaw, who conducted the poll, said: "The rumour that Trump is going to be indicted by the district attorney in Manhattan has helped him quite a bit among Republican primary voters.

"They view the case as politically motivated, and it re-animates feelings that Trump is still fighting forces they see as corrupt and out of control."

The poll also showed a growing number of Democrats want Joe Biden to be the party's nominee again in 2024, up to 44 per cent from 37 per cent in February.

However, 52 per cent of Democrats would like to see someone else as their nominee.