Polls prove Americans are torn on who to support in the 2024 presidential election: former President Trump or Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla).
However, several Iowa voters clarified they are on DeSantis’s side.
During the governor’s trip to Iowa, residents encouraged DeSantis to run for president, promising to support him over Trump in unreported one-on-one interactions captured by C-Span.
One video captured an Iowa voter telling DeSantis not to worry about Trump but to tell the American people what they need to hear.
In response, DeSantis said that it is all about the future.
A second video showed a person telling the Florida governor that he was planning on voting for Trump but switched his support to DeSantis.
Trump, who has several high-profile backers in Iowa, including his former acting Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, and former Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA), appeared to be taking a hit after DeSantis appealed to voters following the former president’s absence in the state due to “severe weather.”
A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found that although Iowans remain committed to Trump, they say there is “nothing locked in about Iowa” for the former president.
Seventy-four percent of Iowa voters say they would likely vote for Trump but are open to supporting other candidates, such as DeSantis, should he officially run.
On the contrary, while DeSantis’s event was packed with state officials and Republican caucus-goers, Trump is still dominating the governor in the poll.
According to data from Real Clear Politics, Trump surged to a 36.1 percent lead over DeSantis as Republican voters’ ideal 2024 candidate.
The poll found that 56 percent of Republican voters favor Trump as the GOP candidate— well ahead of DeSantis at 19.9 percent.
Trump polled 43.9 percent two months ago, versus 28 percent for DeSantis.