Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in third place in South Carolina’s Republican primary race, a recent Fabrizio, Lee & Associates survey found.
The survey asked respondents, “If the Republican Presidential Caucus were held today, which of the following candidates would you vote for?”
As is consistent in other surveys, former President Donald Trump leads the pack by double digits with 53 percent support.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley falls 29 points behind with 24 percent support, and DeSantis falls to third place, 13 points behind with 11 percent support.
Every other candidate — including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — see two percent support or less.
Despite popular belief, the field narrowing does not seem to be helping second and third tier candidates but rather, Trump.
According to the survey:
When Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are pitted head-to-head, President Trump wins by 33- points, 64% – 31%, with only 6% undecided. This includes 54% who are “definitely” voting for President Trump. Trump’s lead is larger on the head-to-head ballot than the full ballot, which means a majority of the voters of DeSantis and other candidates prefer Trump over Haley.
Ultimately, the survey concluded that South Carolina’s Republican voters “may like Haley,” but “they clearly love President Trump.”
It continued:
The conventional wisdom that consolidation of the GOP field would help President Trump’s last remaining opponent is clearly wrong in South Carolina. Trump’s lead becomes even more overwhelming in a head-to-head face off with the popular former Governor. In short, SC is clearly Trump Country and appears to be Trump’s firewall.
The survey was taken November 12-14, 2024, among 600 likely Republican primary voters in South Carolina. It has a +/- 4 percent margin of error and comes as DeSantis ramps up his attacks on Haley, deeming her an establishment candidate who cannot win a national election.
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“Candidates that are establishment candidates will not win elections in this country nationally because of the failures of the policy,” DeSantis said during an appearance with Newsmax’s Eric Bolling.
“So, for example, she has said that there should be no limits on immigration, it should be determined by corporations and CEOs. I don’t agree with that at all. I think immigration should be about what’s best for Americans and American workers,” DeSantis continued, noting that Haley “tends to side with the large corporations, and she tends to side with the establishment interests.”
“Ultimately, you know, she can try to obfuscate, but as voters see that, you know, that is not going to be good for her with Republican voters,” he added.
The tensions have increased as both Haley and DeSantis fight for second place in the GOP primary, as Haley leads DeSantis in South Carolina and New Hampshire, and DeSantis holds a three-point edge in Iowa. However, recent surveys show the tide could be changing, with Haley beginning to tie DeSantis in the Hawkeye State.