Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is moving to poach top donors who have supported his Republican rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, who raised more than $177 million during his 2022 gubernatorial run, has lined up support from top GOP donors like Ken Griffin, Don Tapia and Jeffrey Yass. In a bid to get donors to abandon DeSantis, Trump’s team circulated a memo highlighting polls showing that the former president holds a commanding primary lead over DeSantis and an advantage over President Joe Biden in a general election. (RELATED: Ron DeSantis Is Courting Donors In Trump’s Old Stomping Grounds: REPORT)
“Having just completed our own survey of 1,000 likely 2024 general election voters conducted on behalf of the Donald J. Trump for President 2024 campaign and reviewing recent media polls completed before and after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of President Trump, it is very clear that President Trump has gained strong majority support from Republican primary voters against any opponent and leads incumbent President Joe Biden among likely voters,” pollster John McLaughlin wrote in a memo obtained by Politico.
Head to head Trump v DeSantis per Saturday night polling memo from Trump campaign pollster John McLaughlin:
Trump: 63% v DeSantis: 30%.
An increase from Trump’s January lead of 12 points (52% to 40%).
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) April 2, 2023
McLaughlin’s memo highlights the in-house pollster’s new numbers showing Trump leading DeSantis by 33 points in a head-to-head matchup and by 30 points in a crowded field. Trump led DeSantis 63-30 in a head-to-head matchup, an increase of 22 points over McLaughlin’s January numbers. Trump also led President Joe Biden 47-43 in a prospective general election contest.
McLaughlin and Associates polled 1,000 likely general election voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percent. The poll of 452 likely GOP primary voters had a 4.6 percent margin of error.
“The two things the memo illustrates are the President’s huge numbers and Governor Ron DeSantis’ collapsing numbers,” the Trump campaign wrote in a message accompanying the memo, according to Politico. “Now is the time to demonstrate your support and join.”
Trump leads DeSantis by 26 points in the RealClearPolitics average, with no other candidate garnering more than five percent. State level polls, however, show DeSantis leading Trump by eight points in Iowa and the two candidates tied in New Hampshire. DeSantis is likely to declare his candidacy in May, after Florida’s legislative session ends, multiple outlets have reported.