(NewsNation) — About 51% of Republican caucusgoers say former President Donald Trump is their first-choice candidate, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to a new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
Ken Cuccinelli, founder of the Never Back Down PAC and former deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, joined “NewsNation Now” on Monday to break down those poll numbers.
Cuccinelli said his team, which has been door-knocking in several states since May, has encountered a swatch of undecided voters.
More than half the people who answer with a first-choice candidate are willing to consider others, said Cuccinelli, who formerly served under the Trump administration and currently supports DeSantis.
“Caucuses are notoriously hard to poll,” Cuccinelli said. “Frankly, if polling was right, we’d have seen a red wave in 2022, but there was only one red wave and it was led by Ron DeSantis in Florida/”
Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses will provide the country’s first close look at where the voters and the candidates stand.