Donald Trump has doubled his lead in the Republican presidential primary amid reports he will be indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, according to a new poll.
Voters view the case as politically motivating, pollster Daron Shaw said, and it brings them back into the Trump camp.
The Fox News poll found Trump had doubled his lead since February and was up 30 points over Ron DeSantis, 54% to the Florida governor’s 24%.
Last month, Trump edged DeSantis by 15 points: 43% to 28%.
DeSantis has not officially announced a presidential candidacy, but many expect the Republican governor to run. He is considered Trump’s toughest competition for the GOP nomination.
No other Republican candidate or potential candidate has double digits in the poll.
Mike Pence finished third with 6% while Liz Cheney and Nikki Haley received 3% each. Only Haley announced her offer.
Overall, Trump leads the nomination race by 17 points in the RealClearPolitics poll average.
The first contest votes don’t take place until early 2024, but the former president has dominated the news cycle in recent weeks amid speculation he is set to be indicted in New York. .
“The rumor that Trump is going to be indicted by the Manhattan district attorney has helped him a lot among Republican primary voters,” Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who is conducting the poll with Democrat Chris Anderson, told Fox News.
“They view the case as politically motivated and it rekindles a sense that Trump is still fighting forces they view as corrupt and out of control.”
Donald Trump (left) leads Ron DeSantis (right) 54% to 24% in the new Fox News poll – up 30 points from a month ago
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg created a grand jury earlier this month hoping to indict Trump for campaign finance violations.
Jurors were tasked with determining whether Trump broke the law when his lawyer Michael Cohen gave porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet over claims she slept with Trump in 2016.
Trump has denied the affair and any wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the jury would not hear evidence in the case for a month, largely due to a previously scheduled hiatus.
In a Truth Social video, Trump said Bragg’s move was an attempt by Democrats to interfere in the election.
“Election interference through prosecutors is the new ballot stuffing for the Democratic Party. It’s bad, it’s dangerous, it’s third world and that’s how they’re going to do it. They are a disgrace to our nation,” he said.
The former president has repeatedly denounced the justice system, saying it is armed against it as Democrats try to help Joe Biden win another term in the Oval Office.
Other Republicans supported this claim.
Pence said the latest delay is further evidence that the prosecution is politically motivated.
‘I expressed my concern about what appeared to be an ongoing political lawsuit in New York and I continue to hope that the Manhattan prosecutor will give it more thought,’ he told DailyMail.com during his trip. in Iowa on Wednesday.
Speaking to DailyMail.com in Iowa, former Vice President Mike Pence said the latest delay is further evidence the prosecution is politically motivated.
“The reality is that millions of Americans believe we have a two-tier justice system in this country.
“One that applies to Democrats and one that applies to Republicans.
“And I think that equal justice before the law that every American deserves and I hope that will be reflected in the decisions that are made in the future.”
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the grand jury returning home could send a signal that Bragg might rethink his posture.
“I think the fact that the grand jury was sent home indicates that many Democrats, potentially including Bragg, are cold-blooded,” Cruz told DailyMail.com. “They realize they went too far and it was a mistake. Now, I don’t know if his partisan hatred is so great that he is unable to stop. But the delay is a good sign for the rule of law,” he said.
“The bottom line is pure hogwash,” Cruz continued. “It’s baseless and frivolous. It’s political persecution and ironically enough, having this left-wing Democrat pursue it has already proven to be a significant political advantage for Donald Trump.
NYPD staff remove barricades from the courthouse where a grand jury deliberated on the charges against Donald Trump
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been widely criticized for his handling of the case. Many say he has no legs and is driven by his own political hatred of Trump
There is no official deadline for an indictment to be filed.
But recently, prosecutors offered Trump the chance to testify ahead of trial, which is usually one of the last steps in a criminal investigation.
Trump refused and went into a frenzy when he posted on his Truth Social page that an indictment was coming last Tuesday – which didn’t happen.
