Trump dominates final Iowa poll before caucuses

Donald Trump stillleads the GOP 2024 field by a considerable margin, according to a final poll ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

The survey, conducted by NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom,puts the former president at a near 30-point lead over his Republican rivals.

The Iowa Caucus, the first major political event of the year, will go ahead on Monday, as parts of the state continue to grapple with blizzard conditions and sub-zero temperatures,

The poll shows former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley narrowly edging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place, although the gap is within the poll’s margin of error, according to NBC.

The poll shows Mr Trump commanding 48 per cent of the vote, with Ms Haley taking 20 per cent and Mr DeSantis on 16 per cent.

The survey puts the former president at a near 30-point lead over his Republican rivals

Businessman-turned-presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy earned just 8 per cent of the vote in the poll, just higher than those who said they were “not sure” – at 5 per cent.

The numbers from the poll tally with those of national poll site FiveThirtyEight, which had Mr Trump at 51.3 per cent as of Saturday.

Ms Haley sits at 17.3 per cent and Mr DeSantis has 16.1 per cent of the vote, according to the site.

Mr Trump’s 28-point lead over his nearest competitor in the NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll is slightly down from the 32-point advantage he enjoyed in a similar poll conducted in December.

According to NBC, if his current lead holds on Caucus night, it will be the largest margin of victory for a nonincumbent competing in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses.

The current record margin, 13 points, was set by Bob Dole in 1988.

Some 68 per cent of those in the NBC