Trump caps off 2023 as the imminent victor of the Republican primary race

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President Donald Trump will finish off 2023 as the indisputable leader of the Republican Party, solidifying his lead to wildly large margins that have rarely, if ever, been seen before.

In the latest Morning Consult data tracking the 2024 Republican presidential primary race, Trump has risen to a 55-point lead over the runner-up, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.

Interestingly, DeSantis is now tied with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for 11 percent of support nationwide, signaling the possible demise of the Florida governor’s hopes of netting any state primary wins in 2024.

Trump has wasted no time in poking a stick at DeSantis’s beleaguered campaign as 2024 looms just days away, describing the team at the Never Back Down super PAC as “misfits and grifters” who have “largely quit his campaign to go on to greener pastures.” He also zeroed in on the recent resignation of Jeff Roe, the now-former top strategist for Never Back Down.

Trump commented, “Now Jeff can spend full time in Texas working with Ted Cruz, formerly known as Lyin’ Ted, who is working hard to get back the magic they had together in 2016!”

Trump’s dominance in the GOP primary race is especially meaningful because just one year ago, Gov. DeSantis’s prospective entrance into the 2024 presidential campaign was still an unknown variable.

In fact, until his presidential run, DeSantis was a widely popular conservative governor. Unfortunately, the governor’s decision to run against Trump in the 2024 primary has seemed to damage his political standing among MAGA voters in the GOP primary race.

According to Morning Consult, DeSantis is the nation’s seventh most popular governor. Nevertheless, nationwide, conservative voters strongly prefer Trump over DeSantis for the Republican presidential nomination.

Ahead of the upcoming Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024, President Trump holds a sizeable 36-point lead (CBS News), foreshadowing a prospective Trump landslide in the Hawkeye State that will likely deal a hefty blow to DeSantis’s presidential aspirations.