Trump, DeSantis neck and neck in Utah: poll

Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are neck and neck among Utah Republicans in the presidential primary, even as Trump holds a comfortable lead in national polls.

Trump received 27 percent of the vote in a hypothetical primary, while DeSantis received 26 percent, according to the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll. Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) received 7 percent of the vote but has not announced a formal campaign for the White House.

Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, received 5 percent of the vote, as did former Vice President Mike Pence, who announced his presidential campaign Wednesday. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy received 4 percent of the vote, and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) received 3 percent.

Trump did not perform well in Utah during the 2016 Republican Caucus, garnering only 14 percent of the vote. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), who received 3 percent of the vote in the new poll, won the state with 69 percent of the vote in the 2016 caucus.

The field of Republican candidates for the 2024 GOP primary continues to grow, as Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum all launched their campaigns this past week. In the RealClearPolitics national polling average, Trump holds a significant lead over his challengers, with DeSantis holding steady in second place. 

The RealClearPolitics polling average has Trump leading at about 53 percent, followed by DeSantis who has about 22 percent. No other candidate in the polling average has more than 5 percent of the voting share.

The Deseret News/Hinkley Institute of Politics poll surveyed 421 registered Republican voters in Utah between May 22 and June 1, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.78 percentage points.