Tipsheet
Premium

New Poll Shows If Republican Voters Prefer Trump or DeSantis in the 2024 Presidential Race

This month, former President Donald Trump announced that he would be running for president again in the 2024 election. If Trump wins the Republican nomination, 2024 could be a potential rematch between the former president and current President Joe Biden. If Trump were not chosen as the Republican nominee, many reports indicate that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) could be the nominee. A new poll showed which candidate Republican voters would prefer.

As Biden’s approval rating remains underwater, a majority of Republican voters in a recent Emerson College poll said they will support Trump in the 2024 presidential race.

The poll found that 52 percent of voters disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president. On the other hand, 39 percent approve. In Emerson College’s last poll before the midterm elections, 39 percent of voters approved of Biden’s job as president while 53 disapproved.

For Republican voters, Trump leads with 55 percent support. Gov. Ron DeSantis has 25 percent of support. No other Republican candidate has double-digit support. 

In a hypothetical 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Biden has 42 percent support, followed by Vice President Kamala Harris with 17 percent support. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has 12 percent support. 

“There is a stark education divide among Republican primary voters,” Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.

“A 71% majority of voters with a high school degree or less support Trump in 2024 whereas 14% support DeSantis. A 53% majority of those with a college degree, some college, or associate’s degree  support Trump while 28% support DeSantis. By contrast, Republican voters with a postgraduate degree are most split: 32% support Trump, 29% support DeSantis, and 18% support Mike Pence for the Republican nomination,” he added.

In a potential 2024 rematch between Biden and Trump, Biden holds a four-point lead over Trump, 45 percent to 41 percent. 

Between DeSantis and Biden, Biden has 43 percent support compared to DeSantis; 39 percent. Between Biden and Rep. Liz Cheney, Biden leads 37 percent to 19 percent, while 33 percent said they would vote for someone else.

“In a hypothetical match-up between Cheney and Biden, a 55% majority of Republican voters would vote for someone else on the 2024 ballot, along with a 36% plurality of independents,” Kimball said of the findings. 

Trump shared the poll in a statement on Tuesday. 

“For all RINOS, Never Trumpers, Radical Left Democrats and, of course, the Fake News Media, please enjoy this latest poll from highly respected Emerson College,” Trump said, according to CNBC. “I’m sure you will be thrilled!”

However, another poll released this week by Neighborhood Research and Media showed that 32 percent of likely caucus-goers in Iowa would make DeSantis their first choice over Trump, who has 30 percent support. Another 30 percent said they were undecided on who their first choice would be.

Emerson College Polling’s survey was conducted Nov. 18-19 among 1,380 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.