Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are the clear top preferences among Republican voters for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, with no other potential candidate generating much support, a poll of the still-developing race shows.
(Bloomberg) — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are the clear top preferences among Republican voters for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, with no other potential candidate generating much support, a poll of the still-developing race shows.
DeSantis and Trump both garnered 33% when Republican and GOP-leaning US voters were asked who they want to see as the party’s nominee, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Thursday. Other potential candidates were cited by only a handful of survey participants.
In a hypothetical head-to-head match-up, DeSantis out-polled Trump 53% to 40%, beating the former president among every sub-category of voters — including those considered evangelicals and strong or moderate Republicans — except those earning less than $50,000 a year and those 65 and older.
But the number of GOP voters who want to see DeSantis as the party’s nominee decreased by 6 percentage points since a Monmouth poll in December, while those favoring Trump increased by 7 percentage points, according to the survey.
“Both Trump and DeSantis are well-liked by the party’s rank and file, but it’s likely that voter opinion of Trump is more firmly set than it is for DeSantis right now,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. “The unknown factor is whether DeSantis can maintain this early edge if and when he gets on the campaign trail.”
Trump is the only announced GOP presidential candidate so far after entering the race Nov. 15, but DeSantis is widely expected to enter the field sometime after the Florida legislative session ends in May. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the UN, is set to launch her White House bid Feb. 15 in Charleston.
Haley was the top pick of just 1% of survey respondents, and none of the other potential candidates garnered more than 2% support when GOP voters were asked who they want as the party’s nominee, with 24% saying they don’t know.
Read more: Haley Bets on GOP Appetite for Younger Leader Over Trump
Other Republicans who have laid the groundwork for a 2024 run include former Vice President Mike Pence; former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina; former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson; former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan; and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.
The telephone poll of 566 registered voters conducted Jan. 26 to Feb. 2 with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 6.1 percentage points.
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