Trump holds commanding lead despite voters saying DeSantis has better chance to beat Biden
Cami Mondeaux
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Former President Donald Trump maintains a commanding lead in the polls over his possible challengers for the GOP nomination even as Republican voters acknowledge he’s not the strongest candidate to take on President Joe Biden.
More than half (51%) of Republican voters say they’d back Trump compared to just 38% who said they’d vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving the former president a substantial lead over his closest rival, according to a recent poll from the Wall Street Journal. The polling shows significant growth for Trump, who trailed DeSantis by 14 points in a similar poll in December.
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When the field opens up to all possible GOP contenders, Trump still holds a commanding lead of 48% support compared to just 24% for DeSantis, the poll showed. Meanwhile, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley garnered 5% support, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) received only 3%. All other candidates came in at 2% support or less.
DeSantis’s waning popularity is most obvious among voters who consider themselves “very conservative,” a group that makes up about half of Republican voters, according to the poll. The Florida governor has also trailed behind Trump in support among women and college-educated voters.
Even as DeSantis trails Trump in the polls, voters still acknowledge that the Florida governor would have a better chance of defeating Biden in the general election. About 41% say DeSantis would be a stronger opponent compared to just 31% who say the same for Trump, the poll showed.
DeSantis has not yet announced whether he intends to run for president, but the polling comes as the Florida governor has struggled to establish a national standing that can compete with Trump’s influence. After his historic win in the midterm elections, many Republicans began looking to DeSantis as the best choice to replace Trump as their party’s nominee.
After a lackluster performance in the midterm elections, several Republican leaders looked to matters such as candidate quality and Trump’s influence as reasons the party was unable to secure control of the Senate or gain a larger majority in the House. At the time, it seemed as if party leaders were ready to offer their endorsements elsewhere.
Since then, Republicans have seemed to turn the corner and are returning to Trump’s corner — with a growing number of GOP lawmakers endorsing the former president for the GOP nomination.
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More than 50 Republican House members have endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination compared to just three for DeSantis. Among those, 10 Republican House members from DeSantis’s home turf in Florida have offered their support to Trump over the state’s governor.
DeSantis has ramped up efforts to establish a national standing before deciding whether to run for president, as the Republican governor has scheduled meetings with several members of Congress in Washington over the last week. However, that plan seemed to backfire in some cases after Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) publicly endorsed Trump just hours after meeting with DeSantis.