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New Polls Show Governor DeSantis More Popular than Trump and Biden

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lorida Governor Ron DeSantis is quickly emerging as the one to beat in the 2024 presidential race, leading President Biden and former president Trump in early polls- and he hasn’t even declared a run.

The new USA Today/Suffolk University survey indicates that most GOP voters want Trump to pass the torch to the 44-year-old Republican, despite declaring his own third White House campaign last month.

According to the Suffolk poll,  GOP and GOP-leaning voters say 2-1 that they want Trump’s policies but a man to carry them. While 31% want the former President to run, 61% prefer a different Republican nominee who would continue the policies Trump has pursued. DeSantis is the current favorite to fill that role, with two-thirds of Republicans and those inclined to vote Republican supporting a presidential run for President, 56% to 33%, over Trump.

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The poll shows a similar pattern in terms of running for President. It suggests that 65 percent of Republicans and right-leaning voters want DeSantis to run for President in 2024, and less than a quarter said the opposite. That quarter is likely primarily made up of Trump’s most loyal base. Trump, in contrast, has 47 percent of Republican-likely voters pushing for a third run, a drop from a previously held 60 percent.

David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, summarized the data in a statement to USA Today.

“Republicans and conservative independents increasingly want Trumpism without Trump.”

Against Biden, in general, the difference continues. The Suffolk poll indicates that while Trump trails Biden in a theoretical head-to-head rematch 47-40, DeSantis holds a four-point lead over the Democrat at 47- 43

A recent Morning Consult Poll also shows DeSantis with a slight edge over Trump in the General election.

What’s more, the Suffolk pollsters separated Trump the man from Trump’s policies and asked respondents about their attitudes. A 61 percent majority of Republican and GOP-leaning voters told the pollsters they wanted someone else to continue promoting Trump’s policies as the de facto party leader.

The part of the Suffolk poll aimed at predicting general election results consisted of 1,000 registered voters, taken by landline and cell phone Wednesday through Sunday with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The sample of 374 Republicans and independents who lean to the Republican Party had an even more significant error margin of 5.1 points.

Some on Twitter called the poll’s accuracy into question, while others have touted it as further evidence of changing wins.

Given the error rates, concerns, and how far out the 2024 election is, people should take this poll with a grain of salt. Especially with Trump involved, who defied the polls in 2016 on his road to victory due to the “shy Trump voter effect.” Whether or not that is still at play here remains to be seen.

DeSantis still has not announced his run and continues to indicate that it is not his focus.

Other stories you may want to read:

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