A recent poll found that Republican primary voters trust former President Donald Trump over his competitors on the topic of crime. The polling result could give a boost on a crucial issue to the former president prior to the start of nominating contests next year.
The Rasmussen Reports poll found that Trump was chosen first among the GOP candidates on the question of which candidate they “trust most on the issue of crime and law enforcement.”
Trump placed at 51% of the respondents, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) came in second with 10%. The only other candidate to show significant support was businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
The poll may have also included another piece of good news for the former president. When looking at just “very likely” voters, 54% of those surveyed trusted Trump over the other candidates to deal with crime.
Republicans did back one move carried out by DeSantis. The poll found 83% of potential GOP primary voters believed that prosecutors who did not effectively enforce the law should be removed, mirroring an effort by DeSantis in Florida regarding several district attorneys.
The polling data comes as both property and violent crime have increased across much of the country since 2019. The spike in crime has especially affected a number of large cities administered by the Democratic Party.
One of the cities that has faced a spike in crime is Chicago. Republicans have criticized the city’s leadership as being ineffective in dealing with an increase in homicides, car thefts and organized retail theft.
Chicago had the highest number of homicides in 2022 a title the city has held for the past 11 years.
While Chicago politicians point to more restrictive gun laws as a solution to the problem, maybe it's time to realize that firearm ownership may not correlate with violent crime. https://t.co/2TLD65jZMg
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 22, 2023
Shootings in the Windy City over last weekend killed seven people and left more than 30 wounded. The result is not unusual for the city.
One proposal to reduce crime in the city was to request that gangs not open fire between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The proposal from the community organization, Native Sons, was promoted by Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden (D). According to the organization, the effort would ask criminals to “protect the youth no sliding while the sun is out.”
