Former President Donald Trump is seeing a double-digit lead in a hypothetical Republican primary race, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll released this week found.

When asked who they believe the presidential nominee should be, provided with Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, or “someone else,” 45 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents chose Trump. 

DeSantis, whom many speculate will toss his hat in the ring in 2024, followed 12 points behind, garnering 33 percent support. 

Pence did not even come close, as only eight percent chose him. Another 11 percent chose “someone else,” and three percent remain unsure. 

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives to speak to supporters at an election night party after winning his race for reelection in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday, November 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

When Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are separated, Trump leads among Republicans 48 percent to DeSantis’s 32 percent. However, DeSantis holds a two-point edge among independents, 38 percent to Trump’s 36 percent:

The survey was taken December 6-8, 2022, among 489 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. It has a +/- 5.6 percent margin of error and +/- 5.7 percent margin of error, respectively.

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Trump is the only Republican who has formally announced his intentions to run in 2024, unveiling his “National Greatness Agenda” during a November speech in Mar-a-Lago.

DeSantis, meanwhile, has not formally announced any intention to run and shrugged off rumors of such last year, dismissing the speculation as “purely manufactured.”

“I just do my job and we work hard… I hear all this stuff and honestly it’s nonsense,” he told reporters in September 2021.

However, DeSantis’s refusal to overtly say that he is absolutely not running in 2024 has prompted Trump to take preemptive strikes, even labeling the popular Florida governor “Ron DeSanctimonious.” 

Nevertheless, Trump also referred to DeSantis as a “fine guy” during an interview with Fox News Digital in November, although he maintained that it would be a “mistake” for DeSantis to launch a 2024 bid.

“I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly,” Trump stated. “I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party.”

DeSantis, in turn, has not returned fire, simply asserting that it is all just “noise.” 

“We just finished this election,” DeSantis said of the rumored “civil war” between the two last month. 

“People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff,” he added. 

Recent polls remain relatively inconsistent, as some show DeSantis taking the lead over the former president and vice versa.