Poll: Ron DeSantis Leads Donald Trump by 23 Points in Potential GOP Primary Race

PALM BEACH, FL-NOVEMBER 8: Former President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters
Phelan M. Ebenhack for The Washington Post via Getty Images, Octavio Jones/Getty

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) leads former President Donald Trump among Republicans by 23 points in a hypothetical GOP primary matchup, a Tuesday USA Today/Suffolk University poll revealed.

Fifty-six percent of Republicans and right-leaning voters supported DeSantis, while 33 percent backed Trump.

More than 60 percent of respondents indicated they would support a nominee who would advocate for Trump’s America First policies, such as border security and economic nationalism, but want a different person to be the standard-bearer.

Thirty-one percent said they want Trump to campaign for a third time, the poll found. In July, 60 percent of Republicans wanted Trump to launch a reelection bid. That number fell to 56 percent in October.

Sixty-five percent of Republican voters want DeSantis to enter the GOP primary. Twenty-four percent hope he remains the Florida governor.

Among all voters, the poll showed President Joe Biden leads in a potential 2020 rematch. Biden held a seven point lead over Trump (47-40 percent). In October, Trump was only 4 points behind (46 – 42 percent).

In a hypothetical matchup between Biden and DeSantis in 2024, Biden trails DeSantis by four points (47-43 percent).

The poll sampled 1,000 registered voters from December 7-11 with a 3.1 margin of error. The poll included a sample of 374 “Republicans and independents who lean to the Republican Party” and has a margin of error of 5.1 points.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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