On August 23, 2023, eight hopeful candidates took the stage in Milwaukee to run for the Republican nomination of 2024. 154 days later, only two candidates were left standing after the New Hampshire primary election, the second primary election on the Republican campaign trail.
Those two candidates are former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. While Trump contends many legal problems, they have not stopped him from taking a commanding lead in the election.
All signs are pointing to a dominating primary win for the former president, and Trump even began to widen his lead on incumbent President Joe Biden. According to a poll conducted by Morning Consult, Trump holds a five-point lead over Biden in the 2024 election.
Even the heavily divided Republican party started uniting under Trump. While not everyone in the party is thrilled with the idea of the Trump v. Biden rematch, more and more political figures in the race are throwing their eggs in Trump’s basket, including Governor Ron DeSantis, who was a competitive rival in the early stages of the primary.
DeSantis now fully endorses the former president. Same goes for Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Doug Burgham, all 2024 election drop-outs. Even Chris Christie, another drop-out who built his entire campaign criticizing Trump, is not endorsing Trump’s rival, Nikki Haley.
So, after another huge win for Trump in the New Hampshire primary and then after building a steady lead in the polls vs. Biden, what could possibly stop him from being our country’s next president?
Well… a lot could.
As of February 2nd, there has been an effort to remove Trump from the ballot in 35 states. Two of those states have already removed him.
While both are being challenged and will likely be overturned, Trump has many legal roadblocks on his way back to Pennsylvania Avenue. Even disregarding the legal troubles, there are still many concerns about Trump’s electability.
In a recent poll conducted by Fox News, Trump lost to Biden by one point, while Haley beat Biden by four points. Haley also tends to receive far more support from moderate and left-wing voters.
Trump is also banking on a new strategy in 2024 that some supporters doubt. In 2016, Trump found success motivating voter turnout, as he received even more support than the polls at the time suggested.
However, it appears that he is hoping for the opposite in 2024.
According to a Gallup Poll, Biden’s approval rating is at an all-time low of 38%. Trump’s camp is hoping for a low turnout from Biden’s base to win the election, but, as we learned in 2020, Trump even motivates those who are against his political beliefs to vote in the election.
Polls show that Haley would be better at leveling the blue wave, but seeing Trump’s current performance in the primary, she might not even touch the water.
