Former President Donald Trump is far and away the top choice of Republicans looking ahead to the 2024 presidential race, according to a new poll.
Trump dominated a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, according to The Hill, getting 57 percent of the vote among eight possible candidates listed.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was second at a distant 12 percent, and former Vice President Mike Pence came in third at 11 percent.
Trump has not said for sure that he will run in 2024.
I’m voting for Trump in 2024! Who will do the same?
— Brandi ? (@BrandiLamonte) January 22, 2022
If he does not run, DeSantis tops the list of possible candidates at 30 percent support, according to a poll question that excluded Trump’s name.
In a Trump-free world, Pence was second at 24 percent while Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was third at 14 percent.
Other Republicans whose names were put before survey respondents included former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The poll also indicated that if the presidential election was held today, Trump would lead President Joe Biden in support by a margin of 46 percent to 40 percent. If the contest was between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump would lead her 49 percent to 39 percent.
In the event neither of the 2020 candidates runs again, DeSantis holds a narrow margin over Harris, 40 percent to 39 percent.
JUST IN: FOX News’ Sean Hannity asks Donald Trump if he’s running in 2024:
“I think you’ll be happy, but we’ll let you know at a little bit later date. But I think you’ll be very happy.”
#TrumpRally #Trump2024 pic.twitter.com/x9IaGrJS6K
— World Wire News ? ? (@SamIAmWorldWire) January 21, 2022
The poll sampled Democratic sentiment for 2024 contenders, with Biden atop the list at 32 percent, followed by Harris at 14 percent. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont were tied at 11 percent.
In a contest without Biden, Harris received 23 percent support with Clinton second at 17 percent support and Sanders third at 12 percent.
“It’s way too early to make predictions about 2024 as early polls usually end up not being a good predictor of what happens,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll.
I’d say he is running in 2024. #Trump2024 #PresidentTrump #TrumpRally pic.twitter.com/XPp9MkGRnj
— ???? ??? (@Lady_Pie45) January 16, 2022
“Trump is starting out in a fairly strong position with Republicans while Biden and Harris have surprisingly little support among Democrats for incumbents. Trump is also starting out reasonably well-positioned for the general, but he seems to be benefiting by being out of the limelight and no telling what would happen if he steps back in,” he continued.
The survey of 1,815 registered voters was conducted from Jan. 19-20. The survey by the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll did not release a margin of error.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.