Ron DeSantis Crushes Greg Abbott in 2024 Texas Poll of Trump-Free Primary — By 33 Points
Governor Greg Abbott would have a mighty rough day if he ran for president against Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Texas Republican primary, and former President Donald Trump did not.
So says a new CWS Research poll of likely 2024 Republican primary voters in Texas.
Republicans and independents likely to vote in the GOP primary were asked “Thinking about the next presidential election in 2024, if Donald Trump decides not to run, who would you support for president?”
That’s a lot of “ifs,” but in that scenario, DeSantis trounced Abbott and more than tripled his support. A whopping 46 percent said they’d vote DeSantis versus only 13 percent for Abbott, with 18 percent saying they’d vote for someone else and the rest unsure.
Abbott’s weakness against DeSantis doesn’t appear to be translating to his gubernatorial reelection campaign, where he still leads his primary opponents by several country miles, and averages about a 10-point lead over likely Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke.
But the poll is yet another data point in support of DeSantis’ strength should Trump decide not to run, or even if he does.
In one recent poll of Florida primary voters, DeSantis trailed Trump, but was well within the poll’s 7.4 percent margin of error. But in a general election against President Joe Biden, DeSantis actually polled better than Trump by five points.
And while Trump consistently leads in primary polls, DeSantis has wide support. DeSantis has solidified his grip on the non-Trump field in the McLaughlin poll. In a Trump-less primary, DeSantis leads with 26 percent, with Donald Trump Jr. in second at 18 percent.
In another recent poll from UMass Amherst conducted by YouGov, Trump led DeSantis 55% to 20%, but DeSantis receive support from 69 percent of Republicans who listed him as either their first (20%), second (37%) or third (12%) choice.
As for Abbott, he can be comforted with the knowledge that if a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump its ass a-hoppin’ — a scenario that approximates the likelihood of a Trump-free DeSantis/Abbott race in 2024.
