Former President Donald Trump’s dominance in the Republican presidential primary race extends to South Carolina, where a new poll shows him with a 31-point lead.
Trump has 53% first-choice support, according to CNN poll results released Tuesday.
The survey also found that 80% of likely South Carolina GOP primary voters say they either currently support Trump or would consider supporting him, the broadest share of any candidate tested.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is second overall, with 22% first-choice support.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is third, with 11%, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is fourth, with 6%. No other candidate saw more than 2% support.
The CNN survey found that Trump’s base of support in South Carolina is more solid than that of his rivals.
His strongest support is among likely voters younger than 45 (63% of whom back him), voters who describe themselves as "very conservative" (66%), and voters in households earning less than $50,000 annually (69%).
White evangelical Christian voters, who traditionally have made up a substantial share of South Carolina’s GOP primary electorate, largely back Trump (55% say he’s their top choice), with Haley (18%) and DeSantis (16%) each trailing by a wide margin.
An 82% majority of Trump’s current backers say they'll definitely support the former president. Just 42% of Haley’s supporters and 38% of DeSantis’ backers say the same about those candidates.
Trump has less support among self-described moderates and liberals (41%), those in higher-earning households (44%), and those aged 45 and older (49%). However, he leads his nearest rival by double digits among each of these groups.
Trump leads Haley by 50 percentage points (66% to 16%) among likely voters without a college degree, and by 40 points (59% to 19%) among Republicans.
Trump and Haley are tied (at 32%) among college graduates and enjoy similar levels of support (38% Trump, 34% Haley) among independents who say they’re likely to vote in the GOP primary.
Haley reappeared Monday at the Statehouse where her political career began to file paperwork to participate in the South Carolina primary.
South Carolina will hold its Republican primary on Feb. 24, after Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS Oct. 18-23 among 1,140 registered South Carolina voters.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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