Former President Donald Trump continues his nearly uncontested romp to the Republican Party’s nomination, leaving his rivals in the dust.
His message — “They’re not coming for me; they’re coming for you and I’m just in the way” — has resonated with millions of Americans, and continues to resonate as the charges, indictments, and disparagement from the mainstream media gain in volume and intensity. Nothing, it seems, can stop the Trump steamroller.
Gunner Ramer, the political director of the Republican Accountability PAC, which conducts focus groups with GOP voters, reports:
The deep distrust and dislike that these [voters] have and feel about these institutions just comes through so strong when you talk to [them].
Trump’s message is in line with how the voters are thinking about these institutions. They don’t trust them at all.
I think that this is very much about what Donald Trump has been able to really activate within the Republican Party base. When you ask these Republican primary voters, “How do you feel about Trump’s campaign promise of investigating the Bidens?” It’s near unanimous support for that.
That was in July. Since then, GOP voter disgust as been amplified over Biden’s immigration policies that are letting millions of unvetted invaders and often dangerous criminals flood across the nation’s southern border. Biden’s weak support of Israel hasn’t helped, nor has the continued shrinkage of the purchasing power of the currency reduced voter anxiety as the presidential primaries rapidly approach.
Marc Lotter of the America First Policy Institute confirmed the angst that is driving support for the former president in his bid to regain the White House next year:
[Trump] captured this feeling of people who are tired of being lied to, tired of being lied to by politicians and officeholders of both political parties. And they were sick and tired of another poll-tested Washington creation politician…. I think he taps into that, and he has been able to keep that going.
Not only “going,” but accelerating in the face of indictments and the 24/7 media coverage of them being presented in the most unfavorable light possible.
Trump is burying his Republican rivals in fundraising. Recently released campaign finance disclosures reveal that Trump’s reelection campaign has more cash stashed for the battle than all his rivals have, combined!
At the end of September the Trump campaign reported having $37.5 million in cash, compared to Tim Scott’s $13.3 million, Ron DeSantis’ $12.3 million, and Nikki Haley’s $11.5 million. Mike Pence brings up the rear, with just $1.1 million in cash.
Trump already boasts key endorsements from GOP heavyweights, including four governors, 11 senators, and nearly 80 House members. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy endorsed Trump in August, calling him “the best president for this state,” while Henry McMaster, governor of South Carolina, declared back in January that Trump’s second term will “see a burst of freedom and prosperity unlike any we have ever seen before.”
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem have both publicly endorsed Trump’s second run.
Others supporting Trump are Mike Braun (Indiana); Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee); Tommy Tuberville (Alabama); J.D. Vance (Ohio); Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar (Arizona); Matt Gaetz, Mike Waltz, and Brian Mast (Florida); Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia); Harriet Hageman (Wyoming); Ronny Jackson and Pete Sessions (Texas); Burgess Owens (Utah); Scott Perry (Pennsylvania); Matt Rosendale (Montana); and Elise Stefanik (New York).
In current polling, Trump ravages his competition, with a 44-point advantage over his nearest competitor (Ron DeSantis) and leaving the others even further behind, each showing just single-digit support among Republican voters.
Trump also leads Joe Biden in key swing states: Arizona (+4 points), Georgia (+5 points), North Carolina (+4 points), Pennsylvania (+1 point), and Wisconsin (+2 points).
Biden’s approval rating among all voters continues to shrink — along with his mental acuity and job performance as “leader of the free world.” In three recent polls, his disapproval rating approaches 60 percent.
The Republican nomination appears to be in the bag for Donald Trump, and Biden’s continued failures as chief executive bode well for a second term for the controversial candidate who has found the resonant chord of discontent among voters and continues to play that tune successfully.
