Trump surpasses 50% support in Iowa among GOP presidential candidates, with caucus weeks away: Poll

Former President Donald Trump surpassed 50% support in Iowa, according to a poll released Monday, as the state is set to hold the nation's first Republican presidential nominating races next month.

Trump's lead is the largest recorded this close to a competitive Iowa Republican caucus in the poll's history, according to NBC News, which sponsored the poll alongside the Des Moines Register/Mediacom.

Currently, 51% of Iowa caucusgoers said Trump is their first choice while 13% said he is their second choice, the poll showed. 

Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer, whose firm Selzer & Co. has been conducting this survey for the past three decades, said that the smaller GOP primary field "may have made Donald Trump even stronger. I would call his lead commanding at this point."

The Iowa caucus is scheduled for Jan. 15.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is second to Trump in the Iowa caucus poll with 19% of caucusgoers saying he is their first choice and 30% putting him as their second choice, giving Trump a more than 30-point lead. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is in third place with 15% saying she is their first choice and 17% saying she is their second, per the poll.

Other candidates, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have single-digit support for being the first choice candidate.

The poll was conducted from Dec. 2-7 with 502 registered Iowa voters who said they would definitely or probably attend the 2024 GOP caucuses. The survey's margin of error is 4.4%. 

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