After last week’s midterm election, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is proving to be a GOP superstar after winning his gubernatorial race by a landslide. In a new poll, DeSantis is outpacing former President Donald Trump by 7 percent for a potential 2024 Republican primary slot for president.
The YouGov America poll asked 1,500 voters who they would rather see be the Republican primary candidate in 2024. Forty-two percent of Republican voters chose DeSantis while 35 percent of Republican voters chose Trump. The poll was conducted three days after the midterms and has a margin of error of 3 percent.
Among voters 65 years old and up, DeSantis proves to be even more popular than the former president. Sixteen percent of voters prefer the governor. Also notable is that Trump trails with women after picking up only 15 percent of the women vote compared to DeSantis’ 22 percent.
Following the midterms, Trump has been critical of DeSantis, even though he said he voted for him this election cycle. On Truth Social, his social media platform, Trump called the governor Ron “DeSanctimonious” and said that he helped him win his gubernatorial race in 2018 against Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam.
Trump also said on Friday on Truth Social that “Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win.”
Meanwhile, Fox News opinion columnist Liz Peek blasted the former president for being “the biggest loser” in the midterm election and said he may further hurt GOP chances in 2024 if he runs.
“Trump may be ready to play dirty to win the GOP nomination in 2024,” Peek wrote. “If he does, he will not only cement the disdain with which many in his party view him today, he will once again scorch Republican chances of defeating Democrats.”
DeSantis has not publicly spoken out against Trump since his social media attack. On Twitter, it seems DeSantis is solely focused on Hurricane Nicole clean up after the storm hit the state’s east coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday.
Christina Pushaw, the governor’s rapid response director, tweeted Friday: “Hurricane-damaged road repaired in 7.5 HOURS! It would take months to years in a Democrat-run state. Grateful for Florida’s leadership.”
Hurricane-damaged road repaired in 7.5 HOURS!
It would take months to years in a Democrat-run state.
Grateful for Florida’s leadership. https://t.co/7jmWtLrABV— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) November 11, 2022
While DeSantis has not given any clear indication if he will run in 2024, Trump has teased a “major announcement” on Tuesday from Mar-a-Lago. According to The Independent on Saturday, DeSantis’ allies expect him to announce his 2024 plans after Florida’s legislative session in May.
Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis for comment.
