Data from the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll shows that former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are going head-to-head among Republican Utah voters.
Of the 421 registered Utahn GOP voters surveyed, 19% said they would vote for Trump and 18% said they would choose DeSantis.
In the past week alone, three Republicans — former Vice President Mike Pence, Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota — filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to make their candidacies official.
The three additions join a growing Republican lineup, including Trump, DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, conservative radio host Larry Elder, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
“This is a very similar situation that the Republicans faced in 2016, so the larger the Republican field gets the more it will benefit Trump as the front runner,” said Jay A. DeSart, a professor and the chair of the history and political science department at Utah Valley University.
Read more on how some Republican candidates are targeting Trump.
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