DeSantis clings to slight edge against Trump in Florida: Poll
Ryan King
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has a slim lead over fellow Floridian and former President Donald Trump in the Sunshine State, a recent poll found.
In a hypothetical matchup with Trump, DeSantis wins 44% to Trump’s 39% of Florida voters, while 12% of voters were undecided and 5% opted for someone else, according to a Mason-Dixon poll. The poll marks a bright spot for the governor as his chief potential foe gains momentum nationally amid news of the indictment vote against him.
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Nestled in the middle of the GOP primary calendar, Florida has a monster 125 delegates out of the total 2,467 up for grabs in the cycle. Should a primary contest drag out between Trump and DeSantis, the Sunshine State could prove to be critical.
By favorability metrics, DeSantis garners a significantly higher approval rating than Trump among Republicans, per the poll. DeSantis’s favorables sit at 87%, while Trump’s are at 71%. Meanwhile, 7% of Republicans view DeSantis negatively compared to 19% for Trump.
Among the electorate as a whole, the split also hews toward DeSantis, with 53% favorable compared to 36% unfavorable. Trump’s approval is 39% favorable to 50% unfavorable, while President Joe Biden’s sits at 33% favorable to 54% unfavorable, respectively.
The Mason-Dixon poll was conducted from March 27 to March 30 among 625 registered voters via telephone with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for the general bloc of voters. For the Republicans subset, the poll included 507 Republicans with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4. percentage points.
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Notably, news of the Manhattan grand jury’s vote to indict Trump broke on March 30, the last day of the survey. Since then, some preliminary polling has shown Trump’s support was bolstered among Republican voters. Trump remains the GOP front-runner, with DeSantis clinching second in a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary, per the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
DeSantis is expected to unveil his 2024 plans after the Florida state legislature wraps up its business in May. Multiple surveys in early primary states show DeSantis running competitively with Trump in head-to-head matchups; however, the former president’s edge tends to grow when other 2024 hopefuls are added to the mix.