Former President Donald Trump is leading the Republican candidacy in South Carolina, with the Washington Examiner's Byron York stating that the numbers look "very, very good" for the former president.
The move comes as Trump scored 48% among South Carolina Republican primary voters for the party's 2024 nominee, putting him far ahead of his other opponents, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 14%, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at 13%, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) at 10%, according to the Fox Business poll.
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York, the Washington Examiner's chief political correspondent, also brought up how the former president is in the lead in several other states, including a 30% lead in Iowa and a "substantial lead" in New Hampshire, he said during an appearance on Fox News on Monday.
"What we do see in the new Fox Business polls is a little motion around the second place area," said York. "You see Nikki Haley actually in second place in South Carolina, where she's the former governor. And you see Tim Scott, another South Carolinian, actually in third place in Iowa. So there's a little movement around there, around Gov. DeSantis in the second place race."
The polling comes as Trump is seen by many to be the most likely Republican candidate to win the party's nomination. DeSantis, seen by many to be the biggest challenger to Trump, has not gained the momentum with Republican voters many thought he would after announcing his run in May.
York stated that he is not too surprised at how Trump has such a strong lead among Republicans, as the poll also showed that the economy is the top concern among South Carolina Republicans. York pointed out that Trump could ask if people are better off now than they were four years ago, when Trump was president.
"And most people are not better off now than they were four years ago," said York. "Inflation, which is getting better now, but has just eaten enormous amounts of their buying power. And they're worried, they're worried about recession, they're worried about instability in the future, and difficult to buy a house, high mortgage rates, that kind of stuff. So of course people are concerned about the economy; it's usually the biggest issue in any race, it certainly is now. And when you look back to the last time a Republican was in charge, if you were a Republican, that's Donald Trump."
The poll was conducted from July 15-19 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%
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In a previous poll released earlier this month, most voters were found to believe the Democratic and Republican front-runners for the 2024 presidency, President Joe Biden and Trump, respectively, are not the strongest options either party could nominate. Just over 60% of voters believe Biden is not the strongest candidate Democrats could nominate, while 53% of voters believe Trump is not the strongest candidate Republicans could nominate in 2024.
The Republican National Committee announced Monday it would begin rolling out its early voting initiative in Wisconsin, the first step in convincing Republicans nationwide to vote early in the 2024 elections. The “Bank Your Vote” campaign, initially announced last month, aims to educate GOP voters on how to “bank as many votes as possible before Election Day."