MIAMI.- Former President Donald Trump would lead the Republican presidential nomination by a wide margin over his main rival, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, according to the first poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College.
The poll shows Trump would have a 37% national lead over DeSantis among his party’s likely primary electorate for the White House.
The study reveals that Trump has a significant advantage in almost all demographic groups and regions, as well as in all ideological wings of the party.
Despite concerns about his legal troubles, the former president leads comfortably among both men and women, voters young and old, moderates and conservatives, those with a college education and those without, as well as in urban, suburban and rural areas.
Even among Republicans motivated by similar issues to those that propelled DeSantis’s rise, such as fighting so-called “wake up ideology,” Trump garnered greater support.
The data suggests that DeSantis performed weakly among some of the largest and most influential constituencies in the Republican Party.
The Florida governor only garnered 9% support among voters 65 and older and 13% among those without a college degree.
On the other hand, Republicans who identified as “very conservative” favored Trump by a 50% margin, that is, 65% to 15% in favor of DeSantis.
No other serious challengers to Trump have emerged so far, reinforcing his dominant position in the poll.
Figures like former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina each drew only 3% support.
Likewise, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy received only 2% support from those polled.
In a hypothetical confrontation between Trump and DeSantis for the Republican nomination, the former president would get 62% of the vote compared to 31% for the governor of Florida, according to the poll.
The poll comes less than six months before the first primary contest of 2024, which has raised concerns among many members of the GOP base.
Therefore, more and more political analysts are wondering if Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign for the White House is falling apart.
