Trump expands primary lead as former president becomes top choice for nearly 60% of GOP voters: Poll

Former President Donald Trump is expanding his lead in Republican presidential primary polls as nearly 60% of GOP voters say they would vote for the former president even after his four criminal indictments, according to a new poll.

Trump is now at least 46 points ahead of all other GOP primary candidates, according to a Wall Street Journal poll released Saturday. While 59% of GOP voters say they would support Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comes in second with 13%. 

In the Journal's first primary survey in April, Trump received 48% support while DeSantis was at 24%. While the Florida governor fell in the polls from April, other candidates rose slightly, such as former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Additionally, in a matchup with President Joe Biden, Trump has a slight edge with 40% support to Biden's 39%. In order to secure the White House, Trump would have to win over a majority of the 17% of voters who said they were still undecided.

When the Journal first conducted its poll, Trump had only been indicted on New York state charges of falsifying business records. He has since been indicted in Georgia on state charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. He was also indicted on federal charges related to the 2020 election and over his alleged mishandling of classified materials. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which he has said were politically motivated. 

This poll was conducted Aug. 24-30 with 1,500 registered voters and it has a 2.5% margin of error. The survey also included 600 Republican primary voters, and those results had a 4% margin of error.

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