- Prior to news of a possible indictment, a poll showed support for former President Trump's 2024 run was surging.
- 41% of GOP respondents in the Monmouth University poll wanted Trump as the 2024 Republican nominee.
Former President Donald Trump is surging in the polls ahead of a possible indictment from a New York grand jury, a recent survey shows.
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted between March 16 and 20, mostly prior to news of the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg possibly bringing charges against Trump, and contains a maximum margin of error of ± 6.6 percentage points.
According to the poll, when Republican respondents were asked who they'd like to see as the Republican nominee in 2024, 41% said Trump compared to 27% for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Twenty-three percent of respondents selected "don't know," and the remaining respondents responded with a slew of other candidates.
Looking at prior polling from Monmouth with the same lines of questioning reveals that Trump's steadily gained more and more support from surveyed Republicans as support for DeSantis has dipped. In December 2022, DeSantis led Trump in the polls 39% to 26%, respectively. Three months later, the former president is now in the lead.
Monmouth University's not the only pollster showing Trump in the lead — a recent Morning Consult survey showed that 54% of potential GOP primary voters said they'd support Trump in the runup to the election.
Since news arose of criminal charges potentially being levied against Trump, high-ranking Republicans — and even other Republican presidential candidates — have spoken out and taken actions in support of Trump.
On Monday, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, and House Administration Committee Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil sent a letter to Bragg demanding he testify before Congress about the possible criminal charges.
Additionally, entrepreneur and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took to Twitter on Sunday to prod the other Republican candidate, Nikki Haley and expected candidate DeSantis, to condemn the potential indictment.
—Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 19, 2023
DeSantis, in turn, spoke out against Bragg at a press conference on Monday, accusing the district attorney of weaponizing the office. Even still, he pledged to stay out of the case.
"I have no interest in getting involved in some manufactured circus by some Soros-DA," DeSantis said. "He's trying to do a political spectacle. He's trying to virtue signal for his base. I've got real issues I got to deal with here in the state of Florida."
And on Tuesday, Haley accused Bragg of simply trying to score "political points" by possibly bringing charges against Trump.
And despite a looming possible indictment, there isn't a lot of evidence that support for Trump will dwindle. According to NBC News, previous scandals involving Trump have barely left a mark on his favorability polling.
Speaking to reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said he'd still stay in the race for president if indicted. He even predicted it would increase his polling numbers.