President Donald Trump held a commanding lead over seven other Republicans in a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary poll taken this week.
According to a Harvard CAPS Harris Poll, 47 percent of Republicans voters would support Trump in a primary, a wide lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in second place with 10 percent.
Former Vice President Mike Pence came in third place with nine percent, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley took fourth place with six percent. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took fifth place with four percent, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott took sixth with three percent, and former Sec. of State Mike Pompeo and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tied with one percent.
If President Trump declined to run, 23 percent of Republicans reported that they would support Vice President Pence, while 21 percent would support Gov. DeSantis, according to the poll.
The Harris Poll also reported that Trump would defeat Joe Biden 46 percent to 45 percent in a hypothetical rematch, though it still remains unclear if Trump or Biden will run for a second term.
While Trump has not confirmed his presidential plans, he told several outlets over the summer that his decision would make some people “very happy,” and that he would make a decision “in the not-so-distant future.”
In a hypothetical matchup between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kamala Harris, DeSantis leads with 42 percent to 40 percent, while 18 percent remained undecided.
Joe Biden, who will be 81-years-old on Election Day in 2024, has not revealed whether he intends to seek a second term in the White House, although he told reporters in March that he planned to run for re-election.
However, a Marist National Poll reported that nearly half of Democrats (44 percent) want a candidate other than Biden to run in 2024. In the Harris Poll, 53 percent of Americans reported that Joe Biden was mentally unfit to serve as president, including 16 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents.
If Biden declines to run, it is expected that Kamala Harris will seek the 2024 Democratic nomination.