Despite Trump's lead in polls, some Minnesota Republicans express concerns about his candidacy
MINNEAPOLIS -- Later this week is the first Republican presidential debate. If that seems awfully soon for a presidential debate, consider this: the Iowa caucuses are less than six months away.
There is debate within some Republican circles over whether former President Donald Trump should be the Republican nominee.
On Wednesday of this week is the first Republican presidential debate, and it appears Trump is not going to show.
Trump is reportedly going to do an interview at the same time as the debate with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
But how much of a debate is it without the former president? Remarkably, polls show that with each of his four indictments, Trump's poll numbers and fundraising numbers have gone up. Right now, Trump has what looks like an insurmountable lead in the polls.
A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Trump leading Ron DeSantis by 39 points for the nomination. Other polls show a similar type of lead.
No one at this point in either party has ever come back from this kind of a deficit to win the GOP or Democratic nomination.
A general election Quinnipiac poll shows what other polls show -- a race between President Joe Biden and Trump is a statistical tie. Biden has a one point lead with 47% to 46% of the vote. But some Minnesota Republicans privately are expressing concern about Trump as the nominee.
Republican analyst and former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.
"I was at a breakfast yesterday morning in Wright County, a very conservative part of the state, my home, and there's very conservatives I was having breakfast with, they are not excited about Donald Trump. Not in the least are they excited about Donald Trump," Koch said. "They wish that he wouldn't run, but I think in the end if they have to choose Biden or Trump, they're gonna take Trump."
Minnesota Republicans have had an up and down relationship with the former president. In 2016, Trump finished third in the Minnesota caucuses behind Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. But in the 2016 general election, Trump almost won the state by less than two percentage points, despite putting very little time or money into campaigning here. But in 2020 Trump did put the effort into Minnesota and ended up losing to Joe Biden by seven percentage points.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Joseph Dames every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.