Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) leads former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 Republican Party primary, according to a survey.
The University of California Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies’ (IGS) latest survey determined that 50 percent of California voters would choose DeSantis to be the GOP’s nominee, compared to 33 percent for Trump.
The survey also found that 11 percent of voters have yet to decide between the two, while six percent would not choose either DeSantis or Trump.
DeSantis’s favorability among California voters polled at 30 percent, with 55 percent having an unfavorable opinion of the Florida governor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) greets President Donald Trump as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival at the Orlando Sanford International Airport, Monday, March 9, 2020, in Orlando, FL. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Although he has not yet launched a White House bid, DeSantis is often thought of as Trump’s closest competition in a primary field, consistently polling second to the former president.
However, DeSantis spoke with Fox News on Monday and hinted that he would decide whether to run for president in 2024 after Florida’s legislative session concludes in late spring.
“We’re going to sell some books, we’re going to spread the message of Florida, and then on March 8 I have our legislative session that’s kicking off,” DeSantis said.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet. This is going to be the most productive legislative session we have had across the board and I think people are going to be really excited,” DeSantis added. “So those are what we’re going to be doing over these next few months as we get beyond that, then we can decide from there.”
The Berkeley IGS poll was released days after a nationwide Rasmussen poll found that Trump leads DeSantis by 13 points in a hypothetical head-to-head primary matchup.
So far, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is the only Republican to join Trump in the 2024 Republican primary field.
President Joe Biden speaks with Vice President Kamala Harris after speaking at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Berkeley IGS poll found that only 37 percent of California voters support the idea of President Joe Biden running for a second term in office, compared to 57 percent who oppose it.
Similarly, California voters are not too excited about Biden’s Vice President, Kamala Harris. Nearly two-thirds of California voters would not feel enthusiastic about Harris running for president in 2024 if Biden declines to run for a second term.
Berkeley IGS surveyed 7,512 California registered voters from February 14 to February 20. The survey’s margin of error is ±2 percent.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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