Former President Donald Trump narrowly leads Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical Florida GOP presidential primary, a new poll from Emerson College shows.
Trump received 47% of the vote compared to 44% for DeSantis, with no other candidate getting higher than 4% overall, Emerson surveyed. In a general election matchup, President Biden is tied at 44% with Trump and trails DeSantis, 43% to 46% with Florida voters. (RELATED: Trump Plots Latest Attack On DeSantis With Deep Dive Into His Past)
FLORIDA POLL
2024 GOP Primary
Trump 47%
DeSantis 44%
Pence 4%
Haley 2%
Scott 1%
Pompeo 1%
Someone else 2%https://t.co/DFq8BJoauB pic.twitter.com/73Oz07VBaB— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) March 17, 2023
Among the Florida voters surveyed, 51% approve of the job DeSantis is doing as governor and 42% disapprove. President Biden’s job approval is at 40%, with 53% of surveyed Florida voters disapproving of Biden’s job performance.
If the primary remains contested between Trump, former Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, 69% of DeSantis voters would support Trump and 20% would back Haley, Emerson recorded.
“Nearly one year out from the Florida Presidential Primary, DeSantis and Trump are in a two-way race for the Republican nomination, statistically even with one another. While 90% of Republican voters approve of DeSantis, that does not translate into a firewall of support over the former President for the nomination in their home state,” Executive Director of Emerson College Polling Spencer Kimball said.
The survey was conducted from Mar.13-15 with 1,153 registered Florida voters and a margin of error of 2.8% either way. Data was collected from a representative sample using landlines, SMS text, emails and an online panel.
DeSantis is widely expected to enter the Republican presidential field and will likely be Trump’s most formidable challenger, based on various state and national polls.