Trump, DeSantis, Haley Would All Beat Biden, New Poll Finds

 A new poll shows three top Republican presidential candidates beating President Joe Biden in a one-on-one general election matchup.

Former President Trump, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis all lead Biden, according to the latest CBS News/YouGov poll conducted from January 10 to 12.

Haley would have the biggest lead over Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup with 53% to Biden’s 45%, the poll found.

DeSantis is next with 51% to Biden’s 48%, while Trump hypothetically beats Biden by two percentage points, 50% to Biden’s 48%.

Of course, as the Iowa caucuses kick off Monday, Trump has a massive, double-digit lead over both Haley and DeSantis and is expected to clinch the party’s presidential nomination, barring a considerable shift.

Trump’s indictments have boosted rather than dampened support for him. More supporters say they are voting to support him amid his legal battles rather than voting for him in spite of them, the poll found.

Meanwhile, Biden has been dragged down by the economy.

Only 21% of voters think they would be better off financially with Biden in office, and more than a third of Democrats even say that having a strong economy is a more significant concern than having a functioning democracy.

This is far from the first time polls have shown the Republican candidates beating Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup this election cycle.

An Issues & Insights/TIPP poll from the beginning of this month gave Trump a slightly bigger lead of 37% to Biden’s 34% when third-party candidates are thrown into the mix.

 

Haley has performed better against Biden than her GOP competitors in several other recent polls as well, something Haley herself has touted.

A Wall Street Journal poll conducted between late November and early December showed Haley beating Biden by 17 points, 51% to Biden’s 34%.

“Every one of those polls and against Biden, I beat him by double digits, by 17 points,” Haley said this week. “That’s bigger than the presidency, the House and the Senate. That’s governorships. That’s all the way down to school boards.”

Part of Haley’s edge could be that some voters who prefer Biden to Trump say they would vote for Haley over Biden if that were the matchup in this November’s general election.

However, there are exceptions to the polls showing Haley with a significant lead over Biden.

A Rasmussen Reports poll from earlier this month shows both Trump beating Biden by eight points and DeSantis beating Biden by two points, while Haley trails Biden by two.