Second GOP debate fails to move needle away from Trump: poll

Republican presidential candidates’ efforts to move popularity away from former President Trump during the second GOP debate fell short, according to a new poll.

The Messenger/Harris poll found that more than a quarter of respondents said Wednesday night’s primary debate make them more likely to vote for Trump, who remains the GOP frontrunner despite mounting legal woes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 21 percent of respondents saying they were more likely to vote for him after the debate, closely followed by former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, who brought in 20 percent, according to the survey.

Roughly 18 percent said they were more likely to support entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy post-debate. He was followed by former president Mike Pence, who earned 16 percent; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 15 percent; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott with 14 percent, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum bringing in only 8 percent likely support, according to the survey.

Trump, who skipped the first two debates, spent Wednesday evening giving a speech to striking auto workers in Michigan. The remaining candidates argued on stage despite none of them being near Trump in the polls.

More than half of the respondents, 63 percent, said the debate was too unorganized to learn more about the candidates’ agendas.

While 51 percent of respondents said they oppose Trump’s decision to skip the second debate, 49 percent said they supported his decision to travel to Michigan amid the United Auto Workers’ strikes.

While 26 percent of poll respondents said the debate made them more likely to vote for Trump, 25 percent said it made them less likely to vote for him. Nearly half, 49 percent, of respondents said the former president’s absence on Wednesday had no impact on if they would vote for him.

Thirty-nine percent said Trump is focused on issues that matter to them.

Trump has not said definitively whether he will join the other candidates on stage for the third GOP debate, which is set to take place in Miami on Nov. 8. However, his team said it is likely he will skip this one as well, citing his lead in the polls.

The Messenger/Harris survey was conducted online between Sept. 28-29 among 1,615 voters and has a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.