Interest in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is high among Republican primary voters as a potential candidate for US president in 2024, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll. He is viewed more favorably than former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis defeated Trump 52% to 38% in a hypothetical two-way matchup of Republican primary hopeful voters polled looking into the first round in just over a year.
DeSantis is both well known and popular among those who say they are likely to vote in the Republican primary or nomination contest, with 86% having a favorable opinion of the Florida governor, the poll showed 74% of people has a positive opinion of Trump. Only one in 10 potential Republican voters in the primary said they didn’t know enough about DeSantis to have an opinion about him.
Among all registered voters, 43% had a favorable opinion of DeSantis, compared to 36% of those who had a favorable opinion of Trump. It’s the lowest favorability score for Trump in a Wall Street Journal poll since November 2021 and was knocked down by his waning popularity among Republicans. Since March, Trump’s approval rating among Republican voters has dropped from 85% to 74%, while his unfavorable approval rating has risen from 13% to 23%.
…
