Poll results released by Fox News Sunday showed that former President Donald Trump is still in the lead of potential GOP presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump had 43% of support from Republican primary voters polled, followed by DeSantis with 28%.
Around 1,000 participants were polled from Feb. 19 to Feb. 22 under direction of “Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R),” said Fox.
Although data published by The Bulwark in January indicated that “most Republicans want to move on from Trump,” and that DeSantis was possibly pulling ahead, it appears that Trump’s appeal to GOP voters is still strong. POLITICO reported this week that “Trump’s base remains rigid, and even his critics believe it may be fatal to annoy them.”
Fox’s poll indicates that “among Republican primary voters, men, women, those under and over age 45, and those without a college degree all put Trump first and DeSantis second.” DeSantis had more support from those with college degrees and those who believe that President Joe Biden was legitimately elected.
DeSantis has not publicly announced he is running for president in 2024, but he has hinted at it. Apart from Trump, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have officially announced 2024 campaigns so far.
When asked to pick between Trump and Haley, 66% of the Fox poll respondents chose Trump.
Out of a list of 15 potential GOP candidates included in the Fox poll, Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence each had 7%. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and former House of Representatives member Liz Cheney each had 2%.
“Currently, the GOP primary dynamics are simple,” said Daron Shaw, a Republican who conducted the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “DeSantis needs Trump to falter because most of the former president’s supporters see the Florida governor as the second-best choice. At the same time, other candidates need DeSantis to falter because his supporters have no single fallback option and would be up-for-grabs should he flame out.”
While most Democratic primary voters who participated in the poll (84%) said they approve of Biden’s performance, more than half (53%) said they would like to see someone else run in 2024.
“They like him and the job he’s doing, even if they might wish for an alternative in 2024,” said Anderson. Marist poll results released last week indicated that “Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are warming to the idea of President Joe Biden as their party’s nominee in 2024.”
Biden hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but First Lady Jill Biden said in an Associated Press interview over the weekend that he is ready to run.
Shortly after announcing her campaign, Haley announced a proposed policy that would require a “mental competency test” for politicians over the age of 75. While support for Haley as a candidate lagged behind Trump and DeSantis, there was 77% overall support for this proposal from Fox poll participants.
If this policy existed, it would impact both Biden, 80, and Trump, 76.
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