Trump leading DeSantis by 24 points in new Iowa poll

Former President Trump is leading his closest rival for the 2024 Republican nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by 24 points in Iowa, according to a new poll.

The New York Times/Siena College poll found that 44 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers said they would support the former president, while 20 percent said they would back the Florida governor.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott sits in third place with 9 percent support, followed by conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with 5 percent, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 4 percent and former Vice President Mike Pence with 3 percent.

While Trump holds a commanding lead among voters in the key early voting state, his lead is slightly stronger with voters throughout the country. A New York Times/Siena College poll released earlier this week showed the former president with a 37-point lead over DeSantis nationally.

That poll also showed Pence, Scott and Haley tied for third place with 3 percent support, while Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie garnered 2 percent support among voters nationwide.

The survey released on Friday was conducted July 28 to Aug. 1 with 432 likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers and had a margin of error of 5.9 percentage points.