Polling from The Hill’s partners at Decision Desk HQ released on Monday showed Trump continuing to dominate the Republican primary.  

Sixty percent of Republicans polled said they would back the former president in a primary, according to the findings. Eleven percent said they would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while 10 percent said they would back former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.

Further down the field, six percent of GOP respondents said they would back entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and three percent said they would support former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.  

When asked who their second choice would be if their first choice candidate was not on the ballot, 11 percent said they’d go with Trump, while 36 percent said the same about DeSantis and 15 percent said the same about Ramaswamy. Fourteen percent said they would vote for Haley as a second choice.  

The poll also found that 57 percent of all survey respondents, including 29 percent of Republicans, said they support disqualifying Trump from the ballot if he is convicted in one or more of the criminal cases he is facing.  

The findings demonstrate Trump’s dominance in the polls, but also give an indication as to who Republican voters would choose if the former president is not on the ballot.

And while we’re in Tuscaloosa, we would be remiss if we did not touch on the drama that has enveloped the College Football Playoffs.

On Monday, Florida State became the first unbeaten champion from a Power Five conference to be excluded since the four-team playoff system started a decade ago. Instead, the committee chose the University of Alabama.

The move has been met with pushback from Florida politicians.

DeSantis slammed the decision on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.    

“What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results. Congratulations to @FSUFootball for an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!” DeSantis said.   

Trump, on the other hand, blamed DeSantis for the decision.  

“Florida State was treated very badly by the ‘Committee,’” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “They become the first Power Five team to be left out of the College Football Playoffs. Really bad lobbying effort…Lets blame DeSanctimonious!!!” 

One thing is for certain: DeSantis will be out on the opposing team’s turf Wednesday evening in Alabama.  

Quote of the day:  

“Doxxing and haters that you don’t represent? Sounds familiar.”  

Former Auburn head coach and current Sen. Tommy Tuberville, reacting to Alabama head coach Nick Saban saying that his cellphone number was leaked following his team making it to the playoffs.  

The Virginia governor’s race is starting to take shape, with several Democrats already throwing their hats in the ring.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) announced several days after the November elections that she would be running for governor, while Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced on Monday that he was also launching a bid. No campaigns have been launched yet on the GOP side. 

Democrats enjoyed a good Election Night last month as they retained control of the state Senate while flipping the House of Delegates, with Democrats heavily leaning into the issue of abortion.  

The elections also dealt a blow to Republicans, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who had been widely viewed as a future White House contender. 

Youngkin is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in 2025.