With 35 days until the Iowa caucuses, former President Trump has expanded his lead to 51% first-choice support among likely caucusgoers, according to a poll out Monday morning.
Why it matters: Trump’s lead is the biggest recorded this close to a competitive Republican caucus in the poll’s history, per NBC News, which conducted the survey with the Des Moines Register and Mediacom.
Driving the news: The poll — which surveyed more than 500 likely GOP caucusgoers earlier this month — showed Trump surging by eight percentage points, compared to October.
Between the lines: Trump’s lead is fueled by majorities of evangelical and first-time likely caucusgoers, NBC reports, “as well as by nearly three-quarters of Republicans who believe Trump can defeat President Joe Biden next year despite the legal challenges the former president faces.”