Trump Crushes DeSantis in New Republican Primary Poll, Despite Florida Governor's Heavy Campaigning
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A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday shows former President Donald Trump leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 37 points
As Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential campaign continues facing setbacks, former President Donald Trump is trouncing him in the polls.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday sees Trump leading DeSantis by 37 points, 54% to 17%, among likely Republican primary voters. Those numbers come on the heels of a recent Fox News poll showing DeSantis trailing Trump by 40 points in the Iowa GOP presidential caucus.
Optimism about a DeSantis campaign was among many Republicans following his November 2022 landslide reelection as governor, which came as candidates endorsed by Trump suffered losses throughout the country during the midterms.
The trend, according to some political operatives at the time, seemed to suggest that DeSantis, 44, would be a strong challenger to Trump, 77, in a primary election.
But since DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in May, he's faced several challenges. In recent weeks, his presidential campaign reportedly fired numerous campaign staffers amid financial woes and lackluster poll numbers.
AP Photo/Meg Kinnard
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks at a South Carolina campaign event on July 17, 2023Reports have also circulated that some potential billionaire mega-donors are having second thoughts about a DeSantis campaign. On July 24, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that Nelson Peltz, a billionaire businessman and the father of actress Nicola Peltz Beckham, is among those "rethinking" their support for the Florida governor.
Peltz, who was expected to be a huge financial asset to the campaign, allegedly "thinks that most of DeSantis’s policies are acceptable, but his position on abortion is way too severe," a source told the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, the DeSantis campaign is mired in other controversies, including the fallout from an anti-LGBTQ+ ad made by the campaign itself and a fan video reportedly shared by a campaign staffer featuring what looks to be a Nazi-era symbol known as the "sonnenrad."
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DeSantis was once a Trump ally, with the former president's endorsement helping the now-governor win the 2018 Republican primary against the long-held favorite for the role, former Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam.
But Trump has since suggested that his early endorsement should have led to more "loyalty" from 44-year-old DeSantis.
"If he runs, that's fine. I'm way up in the polls," Trump told the Associated Press earlier this year. "He's going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run. I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over."
Trump's attacks on DeSantis have amplified with time, and in April the former president said the governor is losing backers because he has "no personality or people skills" and adding that supporters may consider sending DeSantis "to the great Walter Reed Medical Center for an emergency personality transplant."
Trump's support among voters comes as the former president is embroiled in a growing number of legal issues and has been indicted twice this year — once in federal court and once in Manhattan.
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