By Illinois Review
Former president Donald J. Trump is leading the Republican primary field of candidates by 32 points according to the latest poll of likely Iowa caucus goers with 51 percent of the vote, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sits at 19 percent just five weeks before the highly anticipated Iowa caucuses.
Trump’s 32-point lead is the largest ever recorded in Iowa history and gives the former president unprecedented momentum heading into the caucuses.
While DeSantis is in second place, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is at 16 percent; Vivek Ramaswamy, 5 percent and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 4 percent.
The polling, taken so close to the Iowa caucus will undoubtedly impact the rest of the Republican primary field’s ability to fundraise and secure key endorsements around the country – and it removes any possibility of critical momentum that’s needed in the final stretch before an election.
Nationally, Trump maintains a 45-50 point lead over DeSantis.
In Illinois, the Republican establishment continues to stand by DeSantis despite low poll numbers, including RNC national committeeman Richard Porter; state central committee member Jeanne Ives and State Sen. Sue Rezin (38th Dist.), Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate Republican Caucus.
This past August, a survey conducted by COR Strategies revealed that only 10 percent of Illinois Republican voters support DeSantis in the 2024 presidential primary, compared to 53 percent that support Trump – indicating a groundswell of support for the wildly popular former president even in a state like Illinois.
In May, during an interview with Crain’s Chicago Business Ives said and tweeted, “I’m a DeSantis fan…I like a strong governor with a proven record of accomplishments…Florida has, what, a $21 billion budget surplus…And Trump? If he’s the nominee, I’ll be 100% behind him.”
In September, Ives once again leveled attacks against this publication after it was reported that Donald Trump Jr, the eldest child of President Trump would be making several stops in Illinois in November as part of a national book tour to promote Letters To Trump – a 319-page book that captures the private correspondence between President Trump and some of the biggest names in history over the last 40 years.
But as preparations were underway for the VIP visit, sources confirmed to IR that AM 560 radio host and state central committee member Jeanne Ives, who announced in May that she was backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign for president – sent emissaries to try and secure special “VIP” treatment during the high profile visit, including a request for an interview with Trump Jr. on her Sunday evening radio show and a request to speak on stage during one of the stops on the book tour – but the requests were all denied.
The next day, the AM 560 radio host took to her Facebook page and attacked IR for its reporting, alleging that this publication – the most conservative news source in Illinois, is “full of lies.”
Ives’ Facebook comments were all over the map. After attacking this publication, she then tried to walk back her support of DeSantis, and in another comment she pivoted and then shockingly attacked the upcoming visit with the former president’s son, falsely claiming that the Donald Trump Jr. event in Addison couldn’t sell tickets.
Sources confirmed with Illinois Review later that day that the Trump Jr. team, including his business partner, were not happy with the AM 560 radio host’s comments publicly disparaging the event featuring the former president’s son.
And over the weekend, Ives’ boss and the program director for AM 560 – a conservative radio station that’s part of the Salem Media Group in the Chicagoland area that features national radio personalities close to the former president including Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Charlie Kirk and Dinesh D’Souza, was retweeting posts on X critical of Trump, including,
“Hey Republicans: Maybe instead of nominating a POS like Trump who has repeatedly belittled and insulted Veterans we should nominate the ONE GUY running for President who had the guts to serve our country, Ron DeSantis. Thank you.”
In another retweet, the AM 560 program director posted,
“407 Days Until @RonDeSantis is Sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America, and @CaseyDeSantis Becomes First Lady.”
Last year, Salem Media Group partnered with D’Souza to make the documentary, 2000 Mules, which revealed illegal ballot harvesting in key battleground states during the 2020 presidential election.
Earlier this month, former Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin announced that he was not going to run for Cook County State’s Attorney after analyzing numbers and reviewing polling data – and blaming former President Donald Trump on his decision not to throw his hat in next year’s race.
“I know that if you’re going to run in a race, you have to run knowing that you have a good chance of winning, and I see no path winning with Trump at the top of the ticket,” Durkin told CBS Chicago anchor Brad Edwards.
Even before Trump, Durkin had a history of losing. In 2002, he unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate, losing to incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Dick Durbin by a staggering 22 points.
From 2013-2023, Durkin served as the House Republican Leader where he maintained his party’s status in the minority.
In 2012, the year before Durkin was elected minority leader, there were 54 House Republicans – and when Durkin stepped down as leader and resigned from the legislature in 2023, there were only 40 House Republicans.
The Iowa Caucus takes place on January 15, 2024.
