More than half — 51% — of likely Republican primary voters now say they support former President Donald Trump in a two-candidate race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, while 38% say they support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a new poll by The Wall Street Journal revealed.
A similar survey by the newspaper in December showed DeSantis leading Trump 52% to 38%.
Highlights from the poll, released Friday:
- 48% of registered voters say they would vote for DeSantis in a hypothetical race with President Joe Biden, while 45% say they would vote for Biden. Trump trails Biden by 3 points.
- 53% of likely GOP primary voters say Trump is a stronger leader, compared to 21% for DeSantis; 14% rated them equally.
- 48% say DeSantis has the right temperament, compared to 28% for Trump; 13% rated them equally.
- 46% say Trump stands up for what he believes in, compared to 23% for DeSantis; 23% rated them equally.
- 37% say DeSantis is most conservative, compared to 35% for Trump; 14% rated them equally.
- 48% of the likely GOP primary voters say they back Trump in a race with a potential field of 12 primary candidates.
- 24% say they support DeSantis in a full-field race.
- 5% say they support former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
- 3% say they back Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
- All others had 2% or less.
The poll, conducted April 11-17, surveyed 1,500 registered voters. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points among the sample of 600 likely Republican primary voters.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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