Trump lead over GOP field widens in new Pennsylvania survey

More than 6 in 10 registered Republican voters in Pennsylvania said in a new Quinnipiac University poll that they’ll support former President Trump in the state’s presidential primary, widening his lead over other GOP candidates. 

The poll, published Wednesday, found that 61 percent of registered GOP voters in the state said they’ll vote for Trump in the primary. This marks a 12-point increase from a similar poll published in June. 

Trump, the front-runner to win the Republican nomination, holds a massive lead over other GOP presidential hopefuls in the state. In second place, 14 percent of registered Republican respondents in Pennsylvania said they’ll support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while 8 percent said they’ll back former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie each received 4 percent of support, while 2 percent of those surveyed voiced their support for entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum each garnered 1 percent support.

The poll comes as Trump faces a slew of legal troubles. The former president has been indicted in four criminal cases this year, most recently in Georgia on charges tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to President Biden. He is also in the midst of a civil fraud trial in New York.

Polls have shown Trump maintaining or even expanding a lead in the Republican primary despite the mounting charges against him.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 with 1,725 respondents, including 711 who self-identify as registered Republican voters in Pennsylvania. The poll’s margin of error was 2.4 percentage points.