Former President Donald Trump leads in terms of favorability out of the entire hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field, the most recent Morning Consult survey found.
The survey examined the popularity of each Republican candidate and found Trump continuing to boast the highest favorability among potential GOP voters, as 77 percent view him favorably. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second place, as 68 percent view him favorably. However, eight percent said they have never heard of him, and another ten percent said they have no opinion — a reality Trump does not face.
Another 14 percent view DeSantis unfavorably, compared to 21 percent who have an unfavorable view of Trump. Only two other potential candidates — former Vice President Mike Pence and Nikki Haley — garnered favorability ratings over 50 percent. However, nearly one-third, 32 percent, view Pence unfavorably.
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The remainder of the potential candidates appear to suffer from a lack of name recognition. For example, 42 percent view Texas Gov. Greg Abbott favorably, and 12 percent do not. However, 30 percent said they have never heard of him. Similarly, 36 percent said they never heard of Sen. Tim Scott, 41 percent have never heard of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and 46 percent said they have never heard of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who also jumped into the presidential race, suffers the most from the lack of name recognition, as a majority 56 percent, said they have never heard of him.
The survey, updated Tuesday, also found Trump continuing to lead the potential 2024 GOP primary field with a majority support — 52 percent. No other candidate came close, as DeSantis came 24 points behind with 28 percent support.
No other candidate listed saw double-digit support. Nikki Haley, who formally jumped into the presidential ring last month, only garnered four percent support
The survey was taken March 10-12, 2023, among 3,556 potential GOP primary voters and has a +/- 2 percent margin of error.