More than half of likely Iowa Republican caucus attendees say they believe former President Donald Trump’s claims that he won the 2020 presidential election despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud, a new NBC News poll shows. Des Moines Register/Mediacom.
Fifty-one percent of respondents say they believe Trump, while 41% say they don’t, and 8% aren’t sure. The poll includes both Republican and independent voters who say they are likely to participate in the caucus.
Majorities of self-proclaimed Republicans (60%), those making less than $70,000 a year (69%), evangelicals (62%), and those without a college degree (59%) all believe Trump’s election claims. Of those who say Trump is their first choice, 83% say they believe he won the 2020 election.
The finding underscores key conclusions from the poll, namely that Trump is the clear favorite among Iowa GOP voters less than five months ahead of the state’s Jan. 15 central caucus and that even more Republicans are open to supporting him. support or defend his allegations about the 2020 election following his multiple charges.
In the poll, 42% of likely GOP caucus attendees chose Trump as their first choice to become the party’s presidential nominee, followed by 19% choosing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and 9% choosing South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. chose. And 65% say Trump — who has been indicted four times this year, including two counts related to his behavior around the 2020 election — has committed no serious crimes.
But respondents who do not support Trump are much less likely to agree with his views on the 2020 election. Only 29% of likely Republican caucus attendees who support candidates other than Trump say they believe he won the 2020 election, along with 37% of independents.
The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted Aug. 13-17 of 406 likely Republican caucus attendees who said they will definitely or probably attend the 2024 caucuses. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
