CNN Poll: Trump Enjoys 29-Point Swing His Way, Against DeSantis Since March

Former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, has enjoyed a 29-point swing his way against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) since March, according to a CNN poll.

The poll, conducted by SSRS for CNN and published Wednesday, shows that 53 percent of registered voters who are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents back Trump for the nomination, placing him 27 percentage points ahead of DeSantis at 26 percent.

CNN POLL: Trump holds 27-point lead over DeSantis

Trump — 53% (+16 from March)
DeSantis — 26% (-13 from March)
Pence — 6%
Haley — 6%
T. Scott — 2%
Christie — 2%
Ramaswamy — 1%
Sununu — 1%
Hutchinson — 1%

CNN/SSRS | RVs | May 17-20https://t.co/fA6c8edAZJ pic.twitter.com/gMIWPWm2oK

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) May 24, 2023

Trump’s support among registered voters has grown 16 percentage points since March’s CNN-SSRS poll that found him at 37 percent of support and trailing DeSantis at 39 percent. The governor’s support has dwindled by 13 percent since then.

No other potential or declared candidate that CNN presented to respondents has double-digit support. Six percent of participants back Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), while Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) each have two percent support. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy gets one percent of the vote, as do Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), Gov. Doug Bergum (R-ND), and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR).

The poll also gauged if respondents would consider voting for other candidates outside of their first choice. Apart from the 53 percent that already backed Trump, another 31 percent “would consider” supporting him, while 16 percent would not vote for him “under any circumstances.”

DeSantis’s combined support and consideration is on par with Trump, as 59 percent who back another candidate “would consider” supporting him. The number of respondents who would not vote for him under any circumstance is 15 percent.

More than 30 percent of respondents say they would not support any of the other candidates in any scenario, including 45 percent who are not entertaining backing Pence, 36 percent who would not consider Haley, 37 percent who would not contemplate Scott, and 46 percent who would not consider Ramaswamy.

Christie, Hutchinson, and Sununu fare the worst on this front, with majorities saying they would not weigh backing them. Notably, Christie, Hutchinson, and Sununu have been vocal critics of the 45th president.

SSRS sampled 1,227 adults, including 476 registered Republicans and learners, between May 17-20. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percent, with a 95 percent confidence level.