In this November 3, 2018 file photo, then-President Donald Trump stands behind Ron DeSantis during a rally in Pensacola, Florida, during his first gubernatorial run.
Butch Dill, File/AP Photo
Republicans in Florida would prefer DeSantis over Trump for a 2024 White House ticket.
That’s a reversal from a similar poll in January.
The findings are part of a USA Today/Suffolk University poll.
Republicans in Florida have a new favorite Florida man they want at the top of the next White House ticket.
According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll published Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads former President Donald Trump 48% to 40% in a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary.
That’s a reversal from a similar poll in January, in which Trump bested DeSantis 47% to 40%.
“Donald Trump trailing in a contest with another Republican is a sea change,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said in a statement.
Wednesday’s findings are significant given that during the 2016 primary, Trump easily defeated Sen. Marco Rubio on his home turf, landing at 46% to 27%, Paleologos said.
The results are just for one state, but inject additional heat into one of the most talked about topics in US politics: Whether DeSantis would enter a presidential race against Trump, the man who rocketed him to the top of the gubernatorial primary in Florida in 2018.
DeSantis has not said whether he has the White House in his sights and is up for reelection in Florida on November 8. He’ll be facing off against Democrat Charlie Crist, who recently resigned from Congress and used to be governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011, when he was a Republican.
That race appears to be promising for DeSantis. The USA Today/Suffolk University poll projected DeSantis would win reelection by a 7-point lead of 48% to 41%.
The poll found a strong lead for DeSantis despite respondents reporting that they feel economic conditions in Florida have worsened — just 37% of voters said Florida’s economy was “excellent” or “good,” down 10 points from January.
Half of voters said they were “worse off” than four years ago, though the poll didn’t assess whether voters blamed the DeSantis or Biden administrations for their economic struggles. It did find DeSantis had a higher approval rating than Biden in Florida, of 53% to 42%.
Should DeSantis hold a big lead against Crist, it would be a huge turnaround for the GOP governor. Just four years ago he squeaked into the governor’s mansion by just half a percentage point against Democratic challenger Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee.
Former President Donald Trump.
AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File
Trump support is dropping in his new home state
The poll shows that Trump’s support may be waning, at least in the Sunshine State. Researchers conducted the poll over the phone from September 15 to 18, surveying 500 voters.
Trump calls Florida his permanent home, though — as is his custom — he spent the summer at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, and at Trump Tower in New York City.
The FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, in August and uncovered classified documents that Department of Justice officials said Trump was not allowed to have. On Sunday evening, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he’d arrived at Mar-a-Lago to “check out the scene.”
While Trump’s legal troubles have kept him in the news, DeSantis also frequently lands national headlines. The latest was last week when he directed state resources to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
The move appears to have caught the attention of Trump, who made immigration restrictions one of his signature issues as president. On Saturday, Trump shared an Insider interview on Truth Social with GOP operative John Thomas, who said DeSantis would tank his political career if he were to run against Trump.
DeSantis’ frequent national headlines, massive fundraising, and regular run-ins with the Biden administration have plenty of political operatives speculating that he’ll run for the White House. Still, the conventional wisdom is that Trump would become the nominee if he were to mount another White House campaign, something he’s been teasing for more than a year.
Trump did have an edge among certain Florida voters, the poll found. He led DeSantis 53% to 36% among voters earning less than $50,000 a year, and 57% to 27% among voters who didn’t go to college.
It’s not clear Trump could win against President Joe Biden nationally, though the poll found Floridians still prefer him over the current president.
The USA Today/Suffolk University poll found Trump would beat Biden in Florida 47% to 44% in a hypothetical matchup. The margins were even wider if DeSantis were to face off against Biden, at 52% to 44%.