DeSantis takes commanding lead in first three GOP primary states
Conn Carroll
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not announced he is running for president in 2024, but Republican voters in the first three primary states sure seem to want him to.
This week, the University of New Hampshire released a poll of New Hampshire Republican voters showing DeSantis with a 42%-30% lead over Donald Trump. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley got 8%, while New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan each got 4%.
BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEE DOESNT KNOW WHAT CONSTITUTION DOES
Among likely Republican primary voters, just 46% think Trump should run in 2024, compared to 65% who think DeSantis should run.
Moving to Iowa, which will hold its caucus a week before New Hampshire’s primary, DeSantis is also beating Trump, but by a much smaller 32%-30% margin. As recently as last June, however, Trump had a big 38%-17% lead over DeSantis, but that lead has crumbled.
In South Carolina, which holds its primary on March 5, DeSantis is crushing Trump 52%-33%.
If these leads hold, if DeSantis can beat Trump in each of the GOP’s first three primary contests, it is all but impossible to see how Trump could recover. Trump capitalized on a divided field to score early victories in 2016, building momentum and picking up new voters as he looked like a winner. Without any early victories, it will be easy to paint Trump as a has-been loser who really needs to exit the stage.
If these polls don’t change, or if DeSantis’s lead grows, it is even possible that Trump may choose to end his reelection campaign entirely to avoid the embarrassment of a string of crushing losses.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER