A new survey by the conservative Club for Growth showed that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) currently has a 9-point lead over former President Trump in a hypothetical match-up in the 2024 Republican primary.
DeSantis is considered to currently be the main competitor that could actually win the Republican primary and stop Trump from being able to return to the White House for a second term. The poll showed that 49 percent of voters would prefer DeSantis over Trump in the primary.
The poll also clearly indicated that DeSantis and Trump were currently the two top contenders for the 2024 Republican primary. While former President Trump has fully launched his presidential campaign, DeSantis has not yet announced whether or not he intended to run for President.
In the seven-person primary poll, Trump appears to be leading over DeSantis with 37 percent of the votes, over DeSantis’s 33 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming in third place with only 7 percent of the votes going his way.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh recently told the hill that all the expected candidates from the poll, which included DeSantis, Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley had been invited to their donor retreat. The only one not invited had been Trump.
McIntosh noted that the club firmly believed that whoever ended up winning the nomination should be someone that the party was certain could win the General election.
