While Israel Captivates the World’s Gaze, Haley and DeSantis Neck-and-Neck, Trump’s GOP Dominance Unstoppable

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While the United States and the rest of the world are watching the unfolding events between Israel and Hamas, domestic issues seem to have taken the backseat. A new Emerson College survey examines the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination and the performance of the candidates. Poll watchers may find some of these numbers surprising, while others might not.

These numbers are not surprising. They belong to the former president Donald Trump. Trump has a 59 percent lead over the other candidates for the nomination. It seems that the real question is, if nothing unexpected happens, who will be second after Trump?

The biggest news to come out of the poll may be the surge by former South Carolina Gov. and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. She has pulled dead even with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Both are at eight percent. Rounding out the current field, the poll puts former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at four percent, and former Vice President Mike Pence and Vivek Ramaswamy in a tie at three percent. The poll shows that 10 percent are undecided. The poll does not include numbers for South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Recently, Trust In the Mission PAC, a super PAC aligned with Scott, announced it was canceling a huge ad blitz on behalf of Scott’s campaign. According to a Real Clear Politics poll, Scott currently sits at 1.8 percent.

In the last month, there was a lot of back and forth among the candidates who are closest to Trump. DeSantis’ and Ramaswamy’s numbers fell four points in that time from 12 and 7 percent, respectively. Haley’s number increased from 3 to 8 percent. Haley and DeSantis recently argued over whether or not the United States should allow Palestinian refugees to enter the country. Haley did not say she was in favor of allowing refugees to enter the country but stated recently that,

There are many people who want freedom from this terrorist rule. They want to be liberated from that. America has always supported the idea that civilians and terrorists can be separated. “That’s exactly what we need to do.”

Haley seemed to qualify her statements by saying:

But right now, it is impossible to take our gaze off the terrorists. Hamas’ actions were beyond brutal, thuggish, and sick. “What the Iranian regime does to help them is horrible.”

DeSantis said that Haley was “politically incorrect” and “trying to please the media and the people on the left.” He said,

“But you must also speak the truth. The truth is that Gaza has a toxic, dysfunctional society, in part, because it teaches young people to hate Jews. This is part of their culture.” “It doesn’t necessarily mean they are all Hamas members, but it’s something you don’t want to bring into the United States.”

The poll also took a snapshot of a possible Biden-Trump rematch. That shows Trump with a lead over Biden 47 percent to 45 percent. Respondents were also asked what they felt were the most pressing issues for the nation. The economy was number one at 35 percent, immigration at 16 percent, “threats to democracy” at 13 percent, healthcare at nine percent, crime at eight percent, and education at seven percent. But in addition to those issues, voters will also be paying attention to how the Biden administration handles the Israel-Hamas war. The Emerson College Poll may just be doing Joe Biden a bit of a favor with these numbers. Of those polled, 18 percent said Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict was “excellent,” 23 percent said “good,” 24 percent said “fair,” and 36 percent said “poor.”

Trump’s campaign announced that while Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley will compete in the third Republican Debate, which will take place in Miami, Florida on November 8, he will also hold a rally on the same evening in Hialeah, Florida, approximately 15 miles from Miami.

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