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Campaign Almanac: Another poll confirms Trump’s big lead in Iowa
Also, Eastern Iowa congressional candidate Christina Bohannan says she’s raised $1M
Donald Trump’s lead remains large, and the race for second place tightened in the latest poll results released Thursday.
Trump, the former president seeking another term in the White House, was the first choice of 54 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucus participants in the new poll from Iowa State and Civiqs.
That was well clear of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at 17 percent, and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, at 15 percent.
Iowa Republicans also appear to be locking in their preferred caucus candidate, according to the new ISU/Civiqs poll: Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed said their minds are made up regarding their first choice.
“The big take-away, aside from Trump’s sizable lead, is that the other candidates are running out of time, and it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of potential for Iowans to change their mind going into January,” Dave Peterson, an ISU professor of political science and organizer of the ISU/Civiqs poll, said in a news release.
The gap between DeSantis and Haley narrowed in the latest poll: DeSantis’ support dropped from 18 percent in November to 17 percent in December, while Haley’s support increased from 12 percent in November to 15 percent in December.
For the poll, Civiqs conducted an online survey of 438 likely Iowa Republican caucus participants from Dec. 8 to 13. The poll’s margin for error is plus or minus 6 percentage points. The ISU/Civiqs poll includes responses from some individuals who also participated in previous ISU/Civiqs polls, in order to help show shifting voter sentiments.
Christina Bohannan: $1 million raised for congressional campaign
Iowa City Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan announced raising more than $1 million since she launched her campaign four months ago.
Bohannan’s campaign said 70 percent of her contributors in the third quarter were Iowans.
The University of Iowa law professor and former state representative is making her second bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which covers 20 counties in southeast Iowa, including Johnson County.
Bohannan is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, now in her second term in Congress.
“The energy behind a grassroots movement like ours shows the winds are changing for politicians like Miller-Meeks,” Bohannan said in a statement.
According to most recent Federal Election Commission filings, Miller-Meeks raised more than $370,000 for the three-month reporting period from July 1 to Sept. 30 and had nearly $1.4 million cash on hand.
David Pautsch, a Davenport Republican and minister known for organizing the annual Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast, is challenging Miller-Meeks in the GOP primary.
Pautsch, who is courting former President Donald Trump for his endorsement, told The Gazette he is running out of a desire to uphold “the basic principles of our country founded in God,” to oust Miller-Meeks, whom he criticized as "out of step" with the Republican Party, and to serve “as a passionate voice for these big issues” of securing the border, growing the U.S. economy, reducing the federal debt and protecting gun and free speech rights and the unborn.
Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
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