DeSantis slipping in polls as Trump ramps up attacks
Cami Mondeaux
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Considered one of the front-runners and the top challenger to Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has steadily lost momentum as the former president has ramped up attacks against him in recent months.
Trump began implementing a new offensive strategy against DeSantis earlier this year, attacking the Florida governor on a number of policy issues as well as hurling insults and demeaning nicknames at him. The strategy has seemed to pay off, as DeSantis has slipped in the polls over the last two months while Trump’s numbers have increased.
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As Trump ramps up his third White House bid, the former president has crafted an attack plan to erode Republicans’ confidence in DeSantis as a way to weaken who is likely to be his toughest primary opponent. The strategy aims to deter DeSantis from launching a White House bid or at least tarnish his standing should he enter the candidate pool.
Recent polling offers inconsistent results when it comes to a matchup between Trump and DeSantis, with some surveys showing DeSantis leading the former president and others showing Trump cruising to the nomination. However, when comparing survey results over time, polling trends suggest DeSantis is losing ground, with Trump significantly improving.
In polling averages that were taken before Jan. 15, Trump and DeSantis were virtually tied when running in a hypothetical head-to-head race, according to an analysis by the New York Times. However, when looking at current numbers, DeSantis has fallen to garnering only 40% of the vote compared to Trump, who snags 52%.
When the two run in a multicandidate field, the trends are similar. Trump held a roughly 10-point lead over DeSantis in a crowded candidate pool before Jan. 15, but that lead has grown to nearly 20 points today, according to the outlet.
DeSantis’s drop in the polls could be due to a number of reasons, the most notable being that the Florida governor, who has yet to enter the race, has refrained from getting into the fray. Despite the onslaught of attacks from Trump, who has called him “Meatball Ron” and a copycat, DeSantis has largely absorbed the attacks instead of counterpunching.
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His falling poll numbers could also be due to the fact that DeSantis benefited from extensive media coverage detailing his landslide midterm victory in November — helping to bolster his national standing among conservatives. Since then, the honeymoon phase of his victory may be fading.
Trump’s momentum comes after the former president was criticized for a slow start to his White House run, as he was notably absent from the campaign trail for months and did not host any public events until late January. Trump has since flown to multiple key primary states in an effort to jump-start his campaign.