The focal point of the Republican Party’s debate regarding who leads the presidential ticket in 2024 centers around whether Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis should lead the party going forward.
According to a poll conducted by Marquette Law School, voters said that they would rather see DeSantis win the GOP nomination than former President Donald Trump.
The data, here, has shown DeSantis quickly close the gap between him and current President Joe Biden and now they tie at 42% of respondents say they would vote for the Florida Governor while 42% also say that they would vote for Biden. The outstanding 18% would vote for a different candidate or would not vote at all in the election.
As for Trump vs. Biden, the poll shows a bleaker outlook. Currently, Trump sits at 34% of responders saying that they will vote for him against 44% who say their vote will go to the current President, Joe Biden.
According to the executive director of Emerson College Polling Spencer Kimball, DeSantis’ edge over Donald Trump is most pronounced in the states that Joe Biden was able to flip in 2020, like Georgia.
“Trump runs similarly in 2024 as he did in 2020, losing by under a percentage point. DeSantis is able to pull ahead of Biden by four points in Georgia, driven by his support among key demographics that support Biden against Trump but flip to DeSantis when he is on the ballot. Among Georgia independent voters, Biden wins over Trump by 6 points in a hypothetical contest, with 20% supporting ‘someone else.’ However, when the matchup is Biden vs. DeSantis, the Republican wins by three points, only 8% support ‘someone else.’”
While Donald Trump has already announced a 2024 Presidential run, it is still unclear whether DeSantis will do the same.
Some factors seem to point to the Florida Governor announcing a run soon.
First, DeSantis is releasing a memoir, which candidates often do in the leadup to an election in which they plan to run.
Also, the state legislature of Florida is contemplating a law that would make it easier for DeSantis to step down from his Governor seat in the state. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the state may soon repeal its resign-to-run law in which a candidate has to forfeit the current seat which they hold to make a presidential run.
That would open the door even further for a DeSantis 2024 bid.
DeSantis also seemed very capable of performing well in speeches and on the debate floor, a prowess which he exhibited after his massive election night win in Florida, saying, “Florida is where woke goes to die.”
Trump offered a warning to DeSantis, saying this.
“And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs [in 2024], and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer.”
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