Poll: Trump Climbs, DeSantis Slides in Hypothetical Head-to-Head

FILE - President Donald Trump talks to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, during a visit to
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File
Nick Gilbertson

Former President Donald Trump has enjoyed a 20-point swing his way since January in a hypothetical head-to-head Republican primary match-up with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), according to a poll.

The Marquette University poll released Thursday shows DeSantis leading Trump nationally at 54 percent to 46 percent among registered Republicans and leaners when asked who they would prefer as the nominee. His eight-point lead marks a substantial drop from the university’s January poll, which showed DeSantis with a 28-point advantage over Trump at 64 percent and 36 percent, respectively. Marquette’s latest figures accompany a number of other surveys from various pollsters that show Trump surging over recent months.

Trump holds a slight lead over DeSantis in a larger primary field offering 11 candidates. His support registers at 40 percent, while DeSantis sits at 35 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) each hold five percent of support, while former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) are tied at one percent. None of the other five candidates offered received half percent of support, and ten percent are undecided.

The GOP primary portions of the poll sampled 381 registered Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents, and the margin of error is plus or minus 6.1 percentage points.

Marquette University also gauged how Trump and DeSantis would fare in general election contests with President Joe Biden among 853 registered voters. Trump and Biden tie at 38 percent of support in a hypothetical 2024 rematch, while 20 percent would vote for another candidate and 4 percent would not cast a ballot. The 45th and 46th presidents tied at 40 percent in January after Trump trailed Biden by 10 points in November, according to Marquette’s past polls.

DeSantis holds a slight lead over Biden at 42 percent to 41 percent. Another thirteen percent are undecided in the scenario, and four percent would abstain from voting. His lead dwindled six percentage points since January when he led Biden by a margin of 45 percent to 38 percent. The pair were tied in November.

The margin of error for this portion of the poll is plus or minus four percentage points. The entire poll was conducted between March 13-22.

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