The GOP Primary: Lowest-Hanging Fruit Remains Out of Reach for Trump Rivals
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary race. — Despite some recent movement toward Nikki Haley, Trump’s rivals are not doing even close to well enough with college-educated Republicans—a group that is not as pro-Trump as Republicans who do not hold a four-year degree. — Non-degree holders appear likely to make up a larger share of the early state electorate than degree holders, further complicating the math for Trump’s rivals. A beer track vs. wine track check-in As we look ahead to—even perhaps as GOP primary voters look past—tonight’s fourth Republican presidential primary debate, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has become a focus in the race. She arguably has surpassed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as former President Donald Trump’s leading rival, and she recently won the support of Americans for Prosperity, the well-funded conservative outside group founded by the Koch brothers. DeSantis still generally leads Haley nationally—he’s at 13% while Haley is at about 10.5%, per the FiveThirtyEight average. DeSantis also has a small lead on Haley in Iowa, the first contest of the nomination season. But Haley leads DeSantis in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the latter of which