Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally with supporters in Davenport, Iowa, U.S., March 13, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
donald trump Ron DeSantis is widening his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who could become the former president’s top rival in the 2024 Republican presidential primary if he runs. polling Potential Republican fields released Wednesday.
The latest Quinnipiac University survey of Republican and Republican-leaning voters found that Trump would win 46 percent of the support in a hypothetical Republican primary, to DeSantis’ 32 percent.
It’s a welcome change for Trump, who leads DeSantis by just 6 points at Quinnipiac vote in february Expected main fields. The former president led his likely rival at the time, 42 percent to 36 percent.
In the new poll, when asked who they would support in a head-off between Trump and DeSantis, 51% of respondents chose the former president, while 40% chose the former president. governor.
“DeSantis may be the focal point of the conversation in the Republican Party, but right now Trump is not seeing any erosion, and in fact, he The lead in the Republican primary is widening.”
Quinnipiac’s results from a pool of 677 Republican and Republican-leaning voters have a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.
The new poll comes as DeSantis rises in national prominence and faces onslaught from Trump and other presidential contenders. The Florida governor has yet to announce his widely anticipated presidential campaign, but he has taken several early steps that suggest he may launch one soon.
At a campaign rally in Iowa on Monday, Trump lashed out at DeSantis’ record on ethanol, the angle seems to have failed among supporters in the nation’s largest corn-producing state.
Earlier Wednesday, a pro-Trump super PAC announced it was asking a Florida ethics committee to Investigate DeSantis He could be disqualified from voting if found in violation of state law.
Meanwhile, another Republican presidential candidate, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, accused DeSantis of “copy“Trump Says This Week Defending Ukraine From Russian Invasion Isn’t”necessary“U.S. interests. DeSantis’ remarks even won criticize from numerous Republican senators.
Former South Carolina Gov. Haley, who launched her presidential bid last month, has 5 percent support in the latest Quinnipiac poll. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering a run for the White House, was backed by 3 percent of respondents.
None of the other 11 candidates had more than 2 percent remaining support in the poll’s hypothetical Republican primary.
Of the 1,635 registered voters surveyed in the latest poll, 49% said they would vote for the president joe biden If the 2024 election were held today, Trump would win. Another 45 percent said they would support a former president over a Democratic incumbent.
In a hypothetical matchup between Biden and DeSantis, however, respondents almost completely split their support. In that likely race, 47 percent backed the president, while 46 percent backed the governor.
Questions for self-identified registered voters have a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.
Biden is expected to run for re-election, which could pit him against Trump, who lost in 2020. Quinnipiac found that among registered voters who viewed Biden, Trump, DeSantis, Pence and Haley more negatively than positively.