Politics

Trump’s Lead Against DeSantis Is His Biggest Yet: POLL

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

James Lynch Investigative Reporter
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Former President Donald Trump extended his lead against Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to his largest since GOP presidential primary polling began, a new Morning Consult poll shows.

The Tuesday poll puts Trump at 56% and DeSantis at 23% among potential Republican primary voters in the wake of Trump’s indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. No other candidate received more than 7% support among the survey recipients. (RELATED: Trump Campaign Shifts Strategy To Capitalize On Indictment Rocket Fuel)

Trump’s 33% lead over DeSantis is the largest since Morning Consult began polling the potential matchup between Trump and DeSantis, who is widely expected to announce a presidential campaign in the coming months. Seventy-eight percent of the Republican voters polled approve of Trump, and 69% approve of DeSantis, the results show.

Over half of potential voters, 57%, heard something negative about Trump in the past week since he was arraigned in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records. DeSantis received 48% support as Trump voters’ second choice, compared to 14% for former Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump is the second choice of 41% of DeSantis voters and Pence is the second choice of 17% of DeSantis voters, according to the poll results. Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the second choice of 17% of DeSantis voters. Surveys of Republican primary voters were conducted from April 7-9 with a sample of 3,608 potential primary voters and a two-point margin of error.

Hypothetical general election matchups against President Biden show Trump with a one-point lead and DeSantis with a two-point lead. The general election polls were conducted from April 7-9 with representative samples of 6,000 registered voters and a margin of error of two points either way.