Trump Surges ahead of DeSantis in Florida, New Poll Finds
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Former president Donald Trump is now leading Florida governor Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical 2024 head-to-head matchup among likely Republican voters in the Sunshine State, according to a new poll from Victory Insights.
The survey shows Trump winning support from 46.6 percent of likely voters, while DeSantis notched support from 31.8 percent of voters. Another 21.6 percent of likely voters said they are undecided. The results mean Trump has enjoyed a 25.7 point swing in his favor since Victory Insights conducted a similar poll in November, when Trump formally announced his campaign and DeSantis was riding high from a landslide reelection win. At the time, polling showed DeSantis with a 10.9-point lead over Trump in Florida.
“Five months later, things have changed substantially,” Victory Insights senior pollster Ben Galbraith said in a statement. “Several other candidates have announced their candidacies, and Trump has been indicted and arrested in a highly politicized move by the Manhattan DA. DeSantis still hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, but his messaging, book tour, and PAC activity certainly point to a presidential run in the coming months.”
“However, it’s beginning to look more like an uphill battle than previously believed,” the pollster added.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Tuesday. The indictment, which Trump has decried as “political persecution,” appears to have offered a boost to his presidential campaign, which raked in more than $10 million in the days after the news of the indictment broke.
Porn actress Stormy Daniels claimed in the final days of the 2016 presidential election that she had previously had a sexual affair with Trump. Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claims. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s investigation centered on whether Trump falsified internal business records to conceal the reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal expenses. Bragg is trying to make the untested legal argument that Trump falsified the records in the service of violating federal campaign-finance law.
Ninety percent of Florida Republicans believe the indictment against Trump was politically motivated, according to the poll, which was conducted between April 6 and 8 among 1,000 likely GOP presidential primary voters in Florida and has a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
Meanwhile, if DeSantis doesn’t run, “Trump is the frontrunner, and it’s not remotely close,” Galbraith said.
When voters were asked to choose between Trump, DeSantis and other declared Republican candidates, Trump garnered 42.9 percent of the vote and DeSantis came in second with 34.8 percent. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trailed far behind in third with 3.5 percent, followed by former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at 3.2 percent and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson at 1.4 percent. Another 13.9 percent were undecided.
If DeSantis is removed from that group, Trump wins with a whopping 65.9 percent of the vote. Haley sits in a distant second with 7.8 percent and another 22.4 percent are undecided.
However, the poll had one bright spot for DeSantis: the Florida governor was more widely liked than Trump or other 2024 contenders. Voters were asked to rate each of the candidates on a scale of one to five, with five being a “very positive” view. DeSantis notched an average of 3.85, while Trump received a score of 3.69. Haley followed behind with 2.19. Ramaswamy was given a rating of 1.12.
