DeSantis jumps ahead of Trump in hypothetical GOP primary: poll

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken the lead over former President Donald Trump in a prospective 2024 GOP primary matchup, a recent survey indicated.

DeSantis claimed 53 percent support among Republican voters in the latest Monmouth University poll, released Thursday. Trump, by contrast, took 40 percent support. In a wider field, 33 percent each supported DeSantis and Trump, with no other candidate gaining double-digit support.

"Both Trump and DeSantis are well-liked by the party's rank and file, but it's likely that voter opinion of Trump is more firmly set than it is for DeSantis right now. The unknown factor is whether DeSantis can maintain this early edge if and when he gets on the campaign trail," said Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray.

Trump formally announced his candidacy for president following the November 2022 midterms. DeSantis has not publicly indicated any plans to seek the party nomination or other higher office.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who claimed 1 percent support in the Monmouth survey, is expected to soon declare her own candidacy. Murray indicated that candidates other than Trump and DeSantis would likely have a difficult path forward to secure the nomination.

"Trump and DeSantis are grabbing most of the media attention, so it is not surprising that most Republican voters do not come up with any names other than these two," he said. "If DeSantis chooses to run against Trump it will be very difficult for any other candidate to get Republican voters to take a close look at them."

A solid 80 percent of Republicans held a favorable view of DeSantis, compared to 6 percent who held an unfavorable opinion of him and 14 percent who had no opinion or had not heard of the governor.

Trump, meanwhile, enjoyed an also strong 74 percent favorability rating, but 18 percent held an unfavorable view of him. Just 8 percent held no opinion or had not heard of the former president.

Haley earned generally positive marks from Republicans, with 47 percent holding favorable views to 11 percent who held the opposite position, but a substantial 41 percent had no opinion or had never heard of her.

The survey may be an outlier, as other polling has indicated that Trump enjoys a notable lead over other prospective GOP challengers. A Premise poll released earlier this week showed Trump claiming 57 percent in a GOP primary matchup against DeSantis, who took 26 percent.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.