Campaign

Trump holds 42-point lead over closest challenger in post-indictment Georgia survey

by Lauren Sforza - 08/29/23 9:13 AM ET

Former President Donald Trump waves after speaking at the 56th annual Silver Elephant Gala in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr.)

Former President Trump is maintaining a comfortable lead in Georgia since being indicted in Fulton County related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state, according to a new poll.

The new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found that 57 percent of likely GOP primary voters in Georgia would support the former president, giving him a 42-point lead against his closest challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis came in second place with 15 percent of the vote, while every other presidential hopeful polled in single digits.

Former Vice President Mike Pence received 4 percent of the vote, while GOP presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and Nikki Haley each received 3 percent. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received 2 percent, while Miami Mayor Francis Suarez received 1 percent.

Fourteen percent of voters also said they were undecided — meaning the Republican presidential candidates still have time to persuade voters.

One-third of Trump’s supporters in the poll also said they would be open to considering an alternative. However, nearly one-third of voters who said they would back a candidate other than Trump said they would still consider voting for the former president.

When broken down in a hypothetical match-up between Trump and DeSantis, the former president came out on top with a 33-point lead. The poll also found about half of Georgia Republicans said the former president is “definitely” the strongest candidate who can beat President Biden in 2024.

The poll was conducted after Trump and 18 others were indicted by a Georgia grand jury in the 2020 election interference case earlier this month. About half of the voters surveyed said the charges brought against Trump were serious, but 44 percent said they were not.

The poll was conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs among 807 likely GOP voters between Aug. 16-23 and has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.