Trump soars ahead of primary rivals in the Golden State: poll

Despite four indictments, former President Donald Trump has held on to his lead in the Republican primary and appears to be making inroads in key battleground states to claim the party nomination in 2024.

Trump took 55% support among likely California primary voters in a survey from the University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took second place with 16% while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy trailed with 7% and 4%, respectively.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence took 3% each while South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott took 2% and conservative media personality Larry Elder took 1%.

The results represent a significant shift in the former president's favor from earlier this year. In the May iteration of the survey, Trump took 44% support while DeSantis earned 26%. The Florida governor reached 37% support in February and, at the time, led Trump, who enjoyed the backing of 29% of voters.

Conducted between Aug. 24-29, the survey questioned 1,175 likely Republican primary voters.

Overall, Trump enjoys a substantial lead at the national level, earning an average 38.7% lead over DeSantis, according to RealClearPolitics. No other candidate claims double digit support in that polling average. Ramaswamy and Haley currently boast third-and-fourth place status with 6.8% and 6.1% support, respectively.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.