A majority of Iowa Republican voters who back Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis do not support former President Donald Trump’s quest to “Make America Great Again,” according to new research.
The final Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll before the Iowa Republican Caucus shows 40 percent of Republican voters identifying as MAGA, while 38 percent say they’re neutral on the question, with 17 percent bizarrely calling themselves anti-MAGA. Amongst the pro-MAGA contingent, 18 percent consider themselves “ultra MAGA,” while 22 percent say they’re just “regular MAGA.”
The divide amongst Iowa Republicans over the MAGA identity explains the dynamics of the caucus overall. Former President Donald Trump, with a built-in base of 40 percent, has consistently polled in the high 40s to mid-50s — pulling additional support from those who describe themselves as “neutral” on MAGA.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has found his Iowa prospects fading, descending from second place to third place in the final Des Moines Register poll. The DeSantis campaign is being squeezed between Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley — unable to move pro-MAGA Republicans into their column and losing anti-MAGA Republicans to Haley.
Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, who surged to a distant second place in the final poll, appears to have consolidated the anti-MAGA and anti-Trump lane with the departure of Chris Christie from the primary race. Nearly half of Haley voters consider themselves “anti-MAGA.”
