NEW POLL: DeSantis Beats Trump Head-to-Head — Among TRUMP Voters
L: Tom DiPace via AP R: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Ex-President Donald Trump leads Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a new Republican primary poll but DeSantis leads Trump in a head-to-head matchup — even among Trump voters.
On Thursday morning, Trump took to his own social media app to promote his “big political speech” in Miami, and push back on the idea that his heart really isn’t in this campaign:
Making a big political speech today at TRUMP DORAL, in Miami. The Fake News says I am not campaigning very hard. I say they are stupid and corrupt, with the Election still a long time away. But do not fear, MANY GIANT RALLIES and other events coming up soon. It will all be wild and exciting. We will save our Country from DOOM and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Trump is trailing President Joe Biden narrowly in most recent polls but holds hefty leads in most recent Republican primary polls.
But a new Yahoo! News/YouGov poll published Wednesday illustrates the dilemma that Trump and non-Trump Republicans face.
Respondents to the poll who are Republicans or Independents who lean Republican who are registered to vote were asked “If your state’s 2024 Republican primary for president were held today, who would you vote for?”
Trump held a slim lead in a of eight candidates: Ron DeSantis 36%, Donald Trump 37%, Mike Pence 5%, Nikki Haley 1%, Glenn Youngkin 0%, Chris Christie 3%, Mike Pompeo 1%, Larry Hogan 1%, and Liz Cheney 2%.
Even among Trump voters in this sample, Trump only managed a slim 1-point lead over DeSantis, 40 percent to 39 percent.
But when the same group was asked “If your state’s 2024 Republican primary for president were held today, who would you vote for?” and given only Trump and DeSantis to choose from, DeSantis led Trump by three points, and even among Trump 2020 voters held a lead of 45 percent to Trump’s 43 percent.
The problem for DeSantis is making it to a head-to-head in a Republican field that is still far from complete, and could include wild cards like Kari Lake. As it sits, that’s also a problem for Republicans who want to defeat Biden, because DeSantis consistently polls better against the president than Trump, including this one. Biden beats Trump 46 percent to 40 percent, while DeSantis is closer, losing 44 percent to 42 percent.
