Most Republican and GOP-leaning voters would be most satisfied with former President Donald Trump being the party's 2024 presidential nominee, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll found.
Three out of four Republican-leaning adults say they would be very or somewhat satisfied with Trump as the GOP's nominee, the ABC News/Ipsos poll results showed.
A total of 64% of GOP-leaning respondents say the same about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 50% say the same about former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
The poll also found 80% of Republican-aligned adults say Trump is the candidate with the best chance of being elected in November. In comparison, 10% say Haley has the best chance, and 9% say likewise about DeSantis.
Trump, the clear front-runner for the party's 2024 presidential nomination, earned a landslide victory Monday in the Iowa caucuses, which kicked off the GOP primary season.
Just as Iowa evangelicals and born-again Christian voters strongly backed Trump, the group nationwide supports the former president, with 74% saying they are somewhat or very satisfied with him.
GOP-leaning voters also say Trump fares better than his primary opponents when it comes to other attributes. Those voters say the former president is the candidate who best represents their personal values, is the strongest leader, best understands the problems of people like them, and is best qualified to serve as president, ABC News reported.
The perception Trump is the candidate with the best chance of winning the election has strengthened since his Iowa victory, the outlet added.
In terms of favorability rating, Trump (72%) also rates higher than DeSantis (63%) or Haley (49%).
The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted Jan. 16-17, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,480 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. There was an oversample of born-again Christians weighted to their correct proportion in the population.
The New Hampshire primary is set for Tuesday.
Newsmax's John Gizzi wrote that former Sen. Gordon Humphrey predicted Haley will defeat Trump "in a photo finish."
However, Haley's home state will hold its primary Feb. 23. The former South Carolina governor trailed Trump by about 30 points in most state polls taken before the Iowa caucuses, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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