Recent polls suggest that many American voters are starting to prefer Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over former United States President Donald Trump for a 2024 presidential run following disappointing GOP midterm elections.
Furthermore, Republican lawmakers are struggling with the issue of who could lead the party to a post-Trump future. Donors, operatives, and other 2024 presidential hopefuls have had private conversations about the matter. There is a growing number of GOP members trying to seize what they believe is their best chance to sideline the former president.
Trump vs. DeSantis
Many have started to blame the midterm results on Tuesday, as the Republican Party was unable to take over the Senate and only made small strides in the House, on Trump. The former president elevated extremist candidates during primaries despite them faring poorly in the general election.
The disappointing midterm results along with Trump's 2020 presidential loss against Joe Biden, have increased public and private talk of the chances of a post-Trump political world. Many of the Republican Party's top donors are already trying to back other candidates aside from Trump, as per the Washington Post.
Many others have also started to support DeSantis, who has placed himself as a Trump-lite Republican and got a nearly 20-point victory against Democrat Charlie Crist on Tuesday. He was able to flip Miami-Dade County, a heavily Hispanic, densely-populated county that no GOP gubernatorial candidate has won in the last 20 years.
Several other hopeful GOP candidates, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Former Vice President Mike Pence, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, have also begun taking stock of what their own, potential presidential runs would look like.
According to Axios, the latest poll was conducted a few days after the midterms and highlights a reversal of last month's results that showed more voters preferred Trump for a 2024 presidential run. On Thursday, the former president issued a statement criticizing DeSantis in what many see as him declaring war against GOP officials who are planning to overthrow him.
Read Also : 2022 US Midterm Elections: Winner of Senate Race Could Take Until December to Decide | Here's Why
Voters' Preferences
The polls showed that 23% of voters supported DeSantis for a 2024 presidential run while only 20% preferred Trump. A notable thing about the poll was that 41% of voters said that they preferred neither of the two nominees. Based on Republican voters alone, 41% said that they supported DeSantis while 39% said that they preferred the former president, with only 8% preferring neither.
The situation comes after Trump called DeSantis "average" and nicknamed the Florida governor "Ron DeSanctimonious." The former president also derided several right-wing news agencies who have expressed support for DeSantis.
The former president criticized the Florida governor's hands-off response to the coronavirus pandemic, which was one of the governor's top achievements among conservatives.
On the other hand, DeSantis' campaign has not yet responded publicly to the former president's chiding. It comes as a Georgia-based strategist, Stephen Lawson, said that the Florida governor is clearly living rent-free inside Trump's head. He noted that DeSantis has not said a single word but many already believe that his Tuesday win will only prove to be to his advantage, Politico reported.
Related Article: US Midterm Elections: Cortez Masto Beats Laxalt in Nevada; Democrats Secure Senate Control
