A new poll released Sunday shows almost half of South Carolina likely Republican primary voters will back former President Donald Trump, with former state Gov. Nikki Haley coming in second.

The Fox Business poll on the GOP nomination race shows Trump with a 34-point lead in the crowded primary field, with Haley falling far behind at 14%, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 13% and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) at 10%. Other candidates did not reach double-digit support.

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"The initial challenge is to see who can become the non-Trump candidate, and in South Carolina, that’s currently a three-way race among DeSantis, Haley, and Scott," GOP pollster Daron Shaw said, noting that at this early point in the race, Trump is still drawing the most attention.

Trump's strongest support is among those who identify as very conservative (57%), voters aged 45 or younger (55%), and non-college-educated voters (53%).

DeSantis also has similar support among those groups, while support for Haley and Scott stems from moderates.

As Trump maintains a sizable lead among his GOP competitors on the national scale, many pundits have speculated whether he will attend the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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The poll found that 57% of respondents believe it's weak if a candidate skips a debate, while 29% said it was a sign of strength. Trump has yet to make up his mind on whether to participate in the upcoming debate.

The poll was conducted July 15-19 and surveyed 808 likely participants in the South Carolina Republican primary. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.