Trump Leads Independents by 3 Points According to The Economist/YouGov Poll

According to a new poll from The Economist/YouGov, Donald Trump’s victory in the Iowa caucuses has resonated with independents. The survey results show that Trump leads among independents with 40% to Biden’s 37%, while nationally the two candidates are within the typical margin of error, with 44% for Biden and 43% for Trump.

Independents have become a crucial voting bloc, and Trump’s gains among them are significant. However, a substantial 22% of independents were ambivalent about both candidates, with nine percent preferring “other,” five percent “not sure,” and eight percent saying “I would not vote.”

Job performance numbers also did not favor Biden, with 54% disapproving and 40% approving overall. Among independents, 61% disapproved and only 28% approved of Biden’s job performance.

When asked who they believed would win in a rematch between Trump and Biden, 45% of respondents chose Trump, while only 32% believed Biden would be reelected. Among independents, 44% favored Trump, compared to 19% for Biden.

Trump’s lead among independents comes as most of his Republican challengers have dropped out and endorsed him, with Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott backing Trump. DeSantis criticized lone challenger Nikki Haley in a campaign video on X, saying, “He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear or a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”

The survey, conducted from January 14-16, included 1,660 U.S. adult citizens.