Trump nearly 40 points ahead of DeSantis: poll

Former President Donald Trump enjoys a commanding lead in the Republican primary field, outperforming his closest rival, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, by nearly 40 points in a recent survey.

Trump earned the support of 54% of Republican primary voters in a recent McLaughlin & Associates poll, which the Iowa Star first reported. DeSantis trailed as a distant second with 16% support while former Vice President Mike Pence took 7% and tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy placed took 4%. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley took 3% while South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott claimed 2% support.

Of those, Pence remains the only potential candidate not to have officially declared his candidacy.

In a one-on-one matchup, 69% backed Trump compared to 30% who broke for DeSantis. The Florida governor officially launched his campaign on Wednesday, though the much-hyped Twitter Spaces event with CEO Elon Musk suffered from considerable technical difficulties.

The survey also showed Trump with a modest lead over President Joe Biden in the general election, with 47% of respondents indicating they would support the former president compared to 43% who would back the current commander-in-chief.

Biden's approval rating stood at 41%, while 56% disapproved of his handling of the job.

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