Trump beats DeSantis by 38 points in new poll as 80% of likely GOP voters still think Trump should be president if convicted

Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks June 10, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks June 10, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo credit Win McNamee/Getty Images

A new poll has found that despite the news of his second indictment, former President Donald Trump remains nearly 40 points ahead of the next closest Republican hopeful.

The CBS News/YouGov poll found that 61% of likely GOP voters would choose Trump as the 2024 Republican nominee.

The next closest among Republican challengers is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had the support of 23% of respondents. Following DeSantis were Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Vice President Mike Pence, who each received 4%, and Nikki Haley, who received 3%.

The pollsters asked Republican voters what candidate they would consider voting for right now, and 75% said Trump, while 51% said DeSantis.

Following the top two candidates was Scott with 21%, Pence with 16%, Haley with 15%, and Vivek Ramaswamy with 13%.

Support for the former president has remained despite his recent legal troubles, and the poll showed just that, as 61% of respondents said the recent news of Trump’s federal indictment did not affect their view of him.

In fact, 80% of likely GOP voters said Trump should be able to be president, even if convicted of federal charges.

Trump is facing a 37-count federal indictment from the Justice Department and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in a Miami court at 3 p.m. EST.

The poll included the responses of 1,798 respondents and was conducted from June 9-10. There is a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images