DeSantis is best positioned to unite the Republican coalition
Conn Carroll
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Asked by Bret Baier what he would tell female independent voters who voted against him in 2020, former President Donald Trump could offer nothing more than election denialism.
“First of all, I won in 2020 by a lot, OK?” Trump shot back. “Let’s get that straight. I won in 2020.”
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When Baier pointed out that Trump, in fact, lost, the interview devolved into a relitigation of the 2020 election. “We’re trying to get recounts, real recounts,” Trump lamely offered.
Here in the real world, Trump lost and voters do not want to hear about how Trump let the election get stolen away from him.
In CNN’s latest poll, Trump still enjoys a commanding lead over the rest of the Republican field, but that lead is slipping. In May, Trump was up 53%-26% over Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). This month Trump’s lead is down to 47%-26%. And when you drill down into the numbers it becomes apparent that Trump is just not a viable option for a large chunk of Republican voters.
Like most of the nation, the Republican Party is currently split along educational lines. Trump leads 55%-23% among non-college voters, while DeSantis leads 33%-29% among those with college degrees. Trump’s larger lead among non-college voters, and the fact that there are more of them, is why Trump is currently winning overall.
But looking at voters’ second choices, it becomes clear that DeSantis is more liked across this educational divide. When it comes to who Republican voters name as their second choice for the nomination, DeSantis leads every demographic, including non-college Republicans. But Trump doesn’t even come in third among those with college degrees, in fact he comes in fourth, behind Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
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Asked who they would consider supporting, a full 55% of non-college-educated voters, DeSantis’s weakest demographic, said they would consider voting for DeSantis. Meanwhile, just 38% of college graduates said the same thing about Trump. In fact, a full third of college-educated voters said they would not support Trump under any circumstances.
Trump is a well-known but divisive candidate. Voters either love him or hate him. It does appear though that too many voters now hate Trump than love him. Meanwhile, DeSantis is showing he is an acceptable first or second choice for most people.