Ron DeSantis Gets More Bad News From GOP Polling
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is struggling to gain any traction in 2024 presidential primary polls, with Republican voters also seemingly unconcerned about the legal issues facing his main rival, Donald Trump, according to a survey.
A Monmouth University poll of 681 registered of leaning GOP voters overwhelmingly found that the majority asked consider the former president to be the best candidate to lead the party at the next election, with DeSantis not making any real inroads two months into his White House bid.
When asked who they want the Republican nominee to be next year, 46 percent of survey participants opted for Trump, while 20 percent named DeSantis. In another question about their preferred choice which lists all 14 candidates in the GOP primary, Trump extends his lead to 54 percent, while support for DeSantis hardly increases at all (22 percent).
In a direct head to head between the pair, Trump gets the backing from 55 percent of potential GOP voters, with DeSantis on 35 percent. The head to head results in the July Monmouth survey are almost identical to a previous poll conducted in May (56 percent to 35 percent).
Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn’s “Operation Top Nunn: Salute to Our Troops" fundraiser on July 15, 2023 in Ankeny, Iowa. A Monmouth University survey shows DeSantis is still struggling to improve his primary polling numbers. Scott Olson/Getty Images
"DeSantis has not made any headway. The arguments that he'd be a stronger candidate and a more effective president than Trump have both fallen flat," Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. DeSantis' office has been contacted for comment via email.
The July poll results also suggest DeSantis, who has long been considered the biggest challenger to Trump for the Republican 2024 nomination, will not benefit from Republican voters being put off by the former president's ongoing legal problems to assist with his campaign.
Trump is due to stand trial in New York after pleading not guilty to 34 charges relating to falsifying business records, and has also denied 37 felony charges in relation to Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents probe.
There is also strong speculation Trump will soon be indicted in Smith's 2020 election and January 6 investigation, as well as in Georgia as part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' inquiry into the attempt to overturn the last presidential election results in the state. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in all criminal investigations into him.
According to the Monmouth poll, only one in four (25 percent) Republican voters said they are concerned about the charges against Trump, making him a potentially weaker candidate against President Joe Biden next year, with just over one in 10 (11 percent) saying they are "very" concerned.
In comparison, nearly half (47 percent) said they are not concerned at all about how the charges and trials involving Trump will affect his chances in the presidential race.
"Trump has successfully pushed a politics of grievance where the system is out to get you. In that light, the criminal charges seem to make him an even stronger advocate in the eyes of many Republicans," Murray said.
Trump has frequently accused the criminal investigations into him as being politically motivated "with hunts" which aim to prevent him returning to the White House.
The Monmouth University poll was conducted from July 12 to 19, with between 681 registered voters who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. The results have a margin of error of +/- 5.9 percentage points.
Source: Newsweek
