A new University of North Florida poll shows that the state’s registered Republicans are supporting state Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The poll was released on Thursday and it shows that 52 percent of registered Republican respondents in Florida would vote for DeSantis in the GOP primary, while only 27 percent would support former President Donald Trump.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who launched her presidential campaign earlier in February, only received 4 percent of the support of registered voters, while former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), received 3 percent. Finally, former Vice President Mike Pence was backed by 2 percent of registered voters.
In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup between Trump and DeSantis, DeSantis was once again successful with 59 percent choosing him over the 28 percent who chose to support Trump.
When asked about whether they would vote for President Biden or Trump in a hypothetical 2024 presidential matchup, 50 percent of state respondents backed Trump, while 43 percent supported Biden. Similarly, in a matchup between DeSantis and Biden in 2024, DeSantis leads with 51 percent of state respondents, while Biden would only gain 42 percent of the votes.
DeSantis has not yet announced whether or not he will be running for the White House in 2024. Still, in his latest State of the State address on Tuesday, he touted his efforts both in fighting “woke” culture as well as in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The address also marked the start of the 60-day legislative session in Florida. With the GOP having won supermajorities in both chambers this legislature is expected to bring many legislative victories for DeSantis.
