Poll shows Trump has the most support in a crowded GOP presidential primary: ‘He loves a fight’

A new poll shows that Republican voters still support former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, outperforming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, if the GOP 2024 primary includes multiple candidates.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll released Thursday shows 45% of Republican and Republican-leaning Independent voters support Trump for the GOP nomination in a multi-candidate field, while 33% favor DeSantis, 8% support Vice President Mike Pence and 11% support other potential candidates.

The findings add context to a Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday that shows DeSantis polling ahead of Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup for the 2024 GOP nomination, indicating that Republican primary voters could hold a slightly more favorable opinion of DeSantis than Trump.

DESANTIS LEADING HYPOTHETICAL 2024 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE IN A DEEP-RED STATE TRUMP WON TWICE

Former President Donald Trump announced that he would seek another term in the White House, officially launching his 2024 presidential campaign on Nov. 15, 2022.
(Joe Raedle)

While Trump launched this third White House campaign a month ago, the field for the 2024 GOP nomination could become quite crowded by next year as a growing pool of Republican contenders continues to tease potential presidential runs in the aftermath of the midterm elections.  

“I think it’s good for him [Trump] to have competition,” Conservative Political Action Coalition chairman Matt Schlapp told Fox News Digital. “I actually think the more people that get in could be better for him. He loves a fight. The more people that get in that want to antagonize him, like a Chris Christie or Larry Hogan, I think that’s good for President Trump.”

While DeSantis has not launched an official presidential bid, the Florida governor recently announced the February release of a new book – traditionally an early step for would-be presidential contenders.   

2024 WATCH: DESANTIS TOPS TRUMP BY DOUBLE DIGITS IN SECOND STRAIGHT GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY POLL

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives a victory speech after defeating Democrat Charlie Crist in a landslide victory.
(Getty Images)

Despite President Biden signaling growing interest in a potential re-election bid in recent weeks, support for a second term is modest among Democratic voters. 

The poll finds that only 35% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning Independent voters want President Biden as their nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary Pete Buttigieg were almost tied with 17% and 16% of voters favoring them for the Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, 27% of voters want someone else entirely.

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The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll was conducted from Dec. 6-8 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.