Jan 6 criminal indictments boost Donald Trump’s lead over DeSantis, show WSJ polls

Despite facing multiple criminal charges and 91 indictments, Donald Trump remains the top choice as the Republican contender for US presidential polls, comfortably beating his rival Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.

According to a Wall Street Journal poll released on Saturday, around 59 per cent of Republican primary voters have thrown their support behind the 77-year-old former president, marking an 11-point increase since the paper conducted a similar survey in April this year.

DeSantis, on the other hand, recorded a slump in his support to 13 per cent, from 24 per cent in April.

Vivek Ramaswamy catching up quickly

The Florida governor is only five points ahead of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Whereas, the up-and-coming tech tycoon Vivek Ramaswamy is also threatening DeSantis’s status as the only viable alternative to Trump.

Notably, the WSJ in its polls has noted that Trump’s lead over DeSantis has nearly doubled to 46 percentage points since the April survey, indicating a strong support for the Capitol riots.

Around 78 per cent of voters said that Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election were legitimate attempts to ensure an accurate vote, while only 16 per cent thought that he illegally attempted to obstruct Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results.

GOP voters overwhelmingly thought that the four criminal cases against Trump lacked merit, with around half saying they had fuelled their support for him.

Moreover, about 48 per cent of the surveyors said that the indictments had motivated them to support Trump even more in the 2024 election, while 16 per cent indicated that this legal action made them less likely to support him.

The poll was conducted from August 24 to 30, collecting responses from 1,500 registered voters and 600 primary voters via telephone and web surveys.

DeSantis' campaign rattled

According to Politico, the latest survey has jolted the DeSantis campaign, which is now shifting its focus to halt Ramaswamy’s momentum.

Never Back Down, the super PAC supportingDeSantis, is reportedly looking into Ramaswamy’s past hoping to find some damaging material.

On Sunday, Ramaswamy, who has been Trump’s staunchest supporter among the Republican hopefuls, appeared to be putting some distance between himself and the former president.

While continuing to oppose the indictments, he questioned Trump’s behaviour on 6 Jan2021.

(With inputs from agencies)

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