Trump narrowly leads 2024 GOP primary field in conservative poll

If there was a crowded Republican primary field, former President Donald Trump would be the narrow frontrunner, according to an early poll on the 2024 race conducted by the Club for Growth Action, an influential conservative organization.

Trump leads the national poll with 37%, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis comes in second with 33%.

Down in the single digits, former Vice President Mike Pence is third at 7%, and former US Ambassador to the United Nations and Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley is fourth at 5%, followed by the South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, at 2%. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin would get 1% of the vote, while 14% of those polled say they are undecided.

The poll was conducted Jan. 17-23 and polled 3,015 likely Republican primary voters nationwide. The margin of error is +/- 1.8%.

As for those who identify as “very conservative,” Trump leads DeSantis by 16 points in the group’s poll.

Club for Growth Action President and former Congressman Dave McIntosh told reporters Monday that the wider gap between the two with what will likely make up most of the GOP presidential primary electorate shows that “Trump still has a very strong attraction.”

“If you have a diverse field against him, DeSantis is trailing,” McIntosh noted, but he added that the Florida governor’s 35% with that group is a “good starting point.”

For those who identify as “somewhat conservative,” DeSantis leads Trump by 6 points.

In a head-to-head matchup between Trump and DeSantis in a hypothetical primary, DeSantis leads Trump by 9 points.

The relationship between McIntosh’s group and Trump has been frosty in recent months, and on Monday McIntosh signaled an openness to supporting another candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

“We haven’t decided to back anyone…what the Club thinks the Republican Party should do is make sure whoever we appoint actually wins [in the general election]“, he said, noting that previous polls from the group showed DeSantis had beaten President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.

“I think that means the party should be open to finding a different candidate. DeSantis is in the strongest position,” he added.

THE Americans for Prosperity (AFP)another notable deep-pocketed GOP outside group fueled by powerful conservative billionaire Charles Koch, said Sunday it plans to oppose Trump and actively help one of his key opponents.

McIntosh said he would not group the Club for Growth Action with AFP, and was quick to say the group would back Trump if he won the Republican nomination.