Former President Donald Trump is down 25 percentage points while Gov. Ron DeSantis takes the top spot for the 2024 GOP nomination in their home state, a new Florida state primary poll shows.
DeSantis led a crowded field of ten contenders with 52% of registered Florida Republicans’ support, followed by the former president at 27%, according to a University of North Florida poll released Thursday. In a head-to-head matchup, the governor’s chances grew with a 31 percentage point margin ahead of Trump.
Declared candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former Vice President Mike Pence garnered 4%, 3% and 2% respectively.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz received 1% and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu ended up with less than 1%.
🚨 New Florida 2024 Republican Primary Poll by UNF
Multi-candidate
Ron DeSantis 52%
Donald Trump 27%
Nikki Haley 4%
Liz Cheney 3%
Mike Pence 2%Head-to-head
Ron DeSantis 59%
Donald Trump 28%
https://t.co/L83qSGjvJ0— Joel Weingart (@JoelWeingart_) March 9, 2023
In the same survey, respondents were asked who they would vote for in the general presidential election between President Joe Biden and either DeSantis or Trump. The governor won against Biden with a slightly wider margin than Trump at 9 percentage points. (RELATED: Trump Has Double-Digit Lead Over DeSantis In Key Primary State: POLL)
Half of the respondents said they had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of DeSantis, and 43% said the same for Biden.
The Floridians were also asked about several pieces of proposed legislation, as the state’s legislative session began this week. A majority of Florida voters disagree with a bill that would ban abortion after six weeks, with 75% saying they somewhat or strongly oppose it.
The poll surveyed 1,452 registered Florida voters, of which 550 were registered Republicans, and was taken from Feb. 25 – Mar. 7 with a margin of error of 2.57 percentage points.
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