A recently published poll by Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies demonstrates a seemingly remarkable lead by
Trump over DeSantis amongst Republican voters.
Poll respondents were asked ‘If the Republican primary is down to two choices,
Ron DeSantis and Donald
Trump, who would you choose to run as president in 2024 among the two?’
A whopping 2/3rds majority sided with
Trump over DeSantis.
The full context, data gathering methods, and additional poll information can be found
hereA separate
poll administered by Harris X/Messenger also found Donald
Trump leading DeSantis 53% to 17%, respectively.
DeSantis has been pressed by many on his strategy to win over
Trump loyalists. Most recently, DeSantis was
askedhow he intended to attract Evangelical voters, who would otherwise vote for
Trump, into his camp. In his response, DeSantis touted the conservative policy efforts and political victories he's led as unrivaled by any other Republican in the country. Moreover, he contrasted his commitment to supporting the pro-life movement to, as he sees it,
Trump’s lukewarmness on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Harvard poll also reinforced the growing concern amongst Americans regarding President
Joe Biden’s mental fitness for office as well as his old age. The poll found that over a third of Democrats ‘doubt (
Joe Biden’s) fitness for office’ and that he is ‘showing to be too old’.
Remarkably, two thirds of independents doubt President Biden’s fitness and three quarters think he is too old. Such data will incite Republican candidates to increasingly appeal to independents during the leadup to the presidency.
Nonetheless, mentally fit or not, Biden’s hegemony within the democratic party persists as he remains the clear Democrat frontrunner.