When you trail in the GOP presidential primary polls by as much as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, it could be difficult to assign more concern to any one category that is demonstrably worse than another.
However, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released Thursday, DeSantis is flailing with women voters to the tune of 11%, compared to former President Donald Trump, who's earning 52% of the female primary vote.
By comparison, DeSantis is pulling in 15% of male GOP primary voters, as opposed to 59% for Trump, per the poll.
The DeSantis campaign, however, believes that there's a bump coming with women voters.
"Ron DeSantis delivered on the issues that mattered to women voters and won them by 9% in his reelection," Bryan Griffin, DeSantis' press secretary, told the Washington Examiner. "As he continues to share his record and his vision for the future of our country on matters like the economy, public safety, and education, he will continue to gain support."
The poll category where DeSantis comes closest to Trump is with voters under 30, trailing the former president only by 22 percentage points — 50% to 28%.
Overall, Trump leads DeSantis 55% to 13% per the survey, not including leaners. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence each come in at 5% overall, with Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley each at 3%.
"Right now, visibility is the name of the game in the Republican primary. Candidates can't break out unless they can get media coverage, and Trump is sucking all of the air out of the room," said Dan Cassino, the poll's director and a professor of Government and Politics at FDU. "Criticisms of Trump have gotten Christie and Pence a lifeline, but so far, it's not enough."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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