Former President Donald Trump's 2024 rivals are eating into his commanding lead over the primary field after he skipped last week's Republican National Committee debate, according to a new poll.
Trump saw a 6 percentage point drop in support in a new survey from Emerson College Polling that put him at 50%. His support was 56% in an Emerson poll taken prior to the debate.
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In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, "In addition to President Trump crushing all of the other primary candidates by a dominant margin, he is now leading Joe Biden in the general election. This further proves that President Trump is the only person who can win back the White House, supercharge the economy, secure our border, safeguard communities, and put an end to unnecessary wars."
The candidate with the largest growth in support was former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. At 2% before the debate, Haley's support jumped to 7%. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who clocked in with the most speaking time during the event, also experienced a boost from 3% to 7%.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who previously registered at 10%, lost 1 point in the poll despite having been considered the debate's winner by some surveyed after the event. DeSantis, who has lost support in national polling in recent months, witnessed a slight bump after the debate, rising from 10% to 12%.
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, cautioned that it remains to be seen whether the slip is a "blip" for Trump or if other candidates will be able to seize on any post-debate momentum.
Trump revealed his decision not to attend the debate at the last minute, opting to upstage the event with an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that aired at the same time.
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Nearly half of voters said the former president's decision to skip the event doesn't affect their decision in the primary. Thirty percent said his absence made them less likely to vote for him, while 22% said it made them more likely.
“There appears to be a softening of support for Trump since last week’s survey, where 82% of Trump voters said they would definitely support him, compared to 71% after the debate. DeSantis’s support also softened from 32% who would definitely support to 25%, while Ramaswamy support remained consistent from 47% to 45%,” Kimball said.