Since formally announcing his bid for president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has surged in the polls, closing the gap between himself and frontrunner former President Donald Trump.
Trump has dominated in 2024 primary election polling since last year, with DeSantis consistently ranking second. But, his lead over DeSantis grew by a 10-point margin following the FBI’s raid on Trump’s palatial estate at Mar-a-Lago.
DeSantis did not enter the race until last month when he made the announcement on a Twitter Spaces call with Elon Musk, which, at one point, had more than 700,000 people listening.
Prior to the announcement, Trump’s lead over DeSantis had increased to more than 40 points. Since DeSantis declared his candidacy for the 2024 GOP nomination, several polls are now showing him gaining support and closing the gap with Trump.
A new internal poll by WPA Intelligence for the DeSantis-backing super PAC shows Trump and DeSantis in a near tie in Iowa, with Trump showing 45 percent support and DeSantis registering 43 percent support. Twelve percent of respondents said they were undecided.
“The Republican presidential caucus is a two-person race between Governor Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump,” WPA CEO Chris Wilson and managing director Conor Maguire, both advisers to Never Back Down, said. “Despite heavy media attacks against Governor DeSantis, along with some rallying to Donald Trump following the New York indictment, DeSantis’ ballot share has grown in the past month while no other candidate exceeds single digits.”
Nationally, DeSantis is still trailing Trump by about 27 points. But, at least one other statewide poll now shows DeSantis steadily closing the gap with Trump.
The latest poll conducted by CWS Research for Defend Texas Liberty PAC shows a net 14-point shift toward DeSantis. Compared to April, Trump lost seven percent support, while DeSantis gained seven percent.
Currently, there are 11 candidates running in the GOP primary.
The most recent additions to the increasingly crowded field include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who declared his candidacy on June 7, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who filed to run for president on June 6.
