A majority of Republican voters believe former President Donald Trump is the best Republican presidential primary candidate to defeat President Joe Biden in 2024, a Monmouth poll found Tuesday.
The poll asked respondents, “Regardless of whether you currently support Donald Trump, which of the following statements comes closest to your view about which Republican has the best chance to win in 2024”
Donald Trump is definitely the strongest candidate to beat Joe Biden
Donald Trump is probably the strongest candidate to beat Joe Biden
Another Republican would probably be a stronger candidate than Trump
Another Republican would definitely be a stronger candidate than Trump
Overall, 63 percent said Trump has the strongest chance of defeating President Joe Biden. Thirty-two percent said someone else.
Of the 63 percent who said Trump has the strongest chance of defeating Biden, 45 percent said Trump is “definitely” the strongest candidate, while 18 percent said Trump is “probably” the strongest.
Of the 32 percent who said someone other than Trump would be the strongest candidate, 19 percent said another candidate would “probably” be stronger. Just 13 percent said another candidate would “definitely” be stronger.
The poll also found Trump (43 percent) leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (19 percent) by 24 points. Since March, Trump’s numbers improved by two points, while DeSantis’s shrunk by eight points.
The poll sampled 655 Republican voters just before DeSantis entered the GOP primary from May 18 to 24, 2023, with a 5.5 percent margin of error.
Although Trump crushes DeSantis, both candidates have high favorability ratings among Republicans: Trump 77 percent, DeSantis 73 percent.
Trump “holds an advantage in practically every Republican voting bloc, with the noticeable exception of college graduates,” the poll found. “Three months ago, DeSantis led among major demographic groups within the party.”
Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said DeSantis has yet to make a case why GOP voters should vote for him over Trump.
“DeSantis lost ground even before he got out of the starting gate. Republican voters still like him, but they haven’t heard a convincing case for why he would be the party’s best option,” Murray said.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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