Poll Suggests Trump Could Pay for Sitting Out GOP Debate

A poll taken after the Republican presidential debate has found changes in the race, with several candidates inching up and the absent frontrunner losing a bit of support. The Emerson College poll showed Donald Trump falling from 56% support among people who plan to vote in a GOP primary to 50%—his low point in an Emerson poll. Trump sat out the debate on Wednesday and has hinted at skipping future debates; the poll results suggest that decision could hurt him, the Hill reports. The poll was conducted Friday and Saturday, surveying 1,000 registered voters and reporting a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Other candidates rose in the standings, though the former president remains the distant frontrunner. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley made the biggest jump, from 2% before the debate to 7%. Former Vice President Mike Pence went from 3% to 7%. Although 27% of Republican voters said entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy won the debate last week, per the Hill, his support fell a point to 9%. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held onto second place, ticking up 2 points to 12%. Among respondents, 43% said there is a chance they'll change their mind and vote for someone else when the time comes, Emerson writes. (More Republican presidential primaries stories.)