Former President Donald Trump has more than doubled his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the five months since Politico launched its 2024 Republican presidential candidate tracker.
Trump, who led DeSantis by just less than 16 percentage points in RealClearPolitics' national polling average on March 20, now leads by nearly 41 points.
DeSantis, meanwhile, has seen his support cut from 29% to 14%.
The change in support has left Trump as the long candidate in the "front-runners" category of the Politico tracker.
Not only that, entrepreneur Vivek Ramasamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie both have vaulted from the tracker's "long shots" group to join the "contenders," according to Politico, which considers several factors in determining candidate placement.
For instance, Politico considered that DeSantis' campaign has endured "slower-than-expected fundraising," staffer layoffs, and the farming out of some campaign activities to super PAC Never Back Down.
Trump also has expanded his advantage in the early caucus/primary states.
He was ahead of DeSantis by 23 points in Iowa, according to this week's Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll, and by 31 points in New Hampshire, according to the latest RealClear Politics polling average.
Politico's latest tracker standings come before much post-debate polling data results, which will show if and how things changed for the participants after Wednesday's event in Milwaukee.
Joining DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Christie as contenders are former U.N. Ambassador and ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
Politico says DeSantis clearly is the leading candidate among the contenders.
"Ramaswamy, Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) are also mounting credible campaigns," Politico's Steven Shepard wrote.
"For Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence, polling shows they're real factors in the race, though their higher negative ratings among a chunk of the GOP primary electorate — namely Trump supporters and voters who say they're 'very conservative' — make assembling a winning coalition less likely."
Politico's long shots include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, conservative talk show host Larry Elder, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, businessman Perry Johnson, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, and businessman/pastor Ryan Binkley.
Trump and the six contenders are the only candidates who have met the polling threshold to qualify for the second debate next month. In order to participate, a candidate must receive 3% in at least one national poll.
The Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses will begin the 2024 primary season.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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