president Donald Trump tapped into what he called the "incredible opportunity" the midterms present for the Republicans when he returned to Washington this week for the first time since leaving the White House in January 2021. .

WATCH | Trump slams Biden record and projects big win in midterms:.

In the Siena poll, 25 per cent of those who say they will vote in the Republican presidential primary chose DeSantis as their nominee over the 49 per cent who prefer Trump and nine per cent who chose Pence.

The leadership contest won't begin in earnest until after the midterms, but the question of whether Trump will run already looms large.

Sixty-one per cent of Republicans still think he won the last election, and 80 per cent don't think he committed serious crimes in relation to the Jan.

"We don't see evidence of a groundswell of erosion for Trump's candidacy," Levy said.

Levy said it might work to Trump's advantage to announce his candidacy sooner rather than later to siphon support away from other would-be contenders such as Ted Cruz or Nikki Haley and strengthen his position against DeSantis, but there are also fears that announcing before the midterms could hurt Republicans' chances. .

Kale Ogunbor, 20, voted for Trump in 2020 but wants her party to focus on the midterms, not the leadership race. .

She'd like to hear the Republican Party present more concrete solutions to the economic crisis.

"You can't just keep saying, 'Oh, gas is high.' You actually have to convince people why you're the 'right' side," Ogunbor said.

"I'm not going to start yelling at people who don't agree with me," she said.

Fellow student Ava Sherwood Erculiani, 19, of Evansburg, Pa., supported Trump and likes that he brought new people to the Republican Party but wants a more moderate candidate this time around. .

Whether he announces before the midterms or not, Trump is already playing a role in the state primary contests.

In Michigan, for example, the Democratic congressional campaign committee is accused of running ads to boost the chances of a candidate who has endorsed false election claims and conspiracy theories over freshman congressman Peter Meijer, who was one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the Jan.

"The environment is so good for Republicans, it's conceivable to me that some of these candidates, even the poor candidates, could trip across the finish line in first place," he said.

"The idea that we would lose to him or his successor is anathema to the average Republican so, to the extent Trump puts you in danger of doing that, I think that's going to be a pretty powerful message for some primary opponent to him." 

For now, as long as Republicans stay focused on the issues and don't get distracted by relitigating the last election, the race is theirs to lose, he said