Bad News for DeSantis: Ron Tied with Surprise Candidate for 2nd Place in GOP Poll
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has had its fair share of ups and downs since it began. Lately, it has been met with a lot of bad news.
DeSantis had separated himself from the pack chasing former President Donald Trump, but one poll now shows him tied with another candidate for second place in the GOP primary.
That candidate is conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Kaplan Strategies survey released Thursday has both Ramaswamy and DeSantis with 12 percent support among likely Republican voters.
2024 National Republican Primary
• Trump — 48% (+36)
• Ramaswamy — 12%
• DeSantis — 12%
• Christie — 5%
• Scott — 5%
• Pence — 4%
• Haley — 3%
• Hutchinson — 1%
• Undecided — 10%⦿ Kaplan Strategies | July 17-18
⦿ n= 800 LV | MoE: ±3.5%https://t.co/K5Oljeq6zz pic.twitter.com/x7RIVnFLxk— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) July 20, 2023
Although considered a long shot, Ramaswamy has gained steam in the race.
In a poll released early this month, he had 10 percent support, trailing DeSantis by 6 points. Now that gap has closed, according to the Kaplan survey.
A news release for the survey noted that Ramaswamy may have a higher ceiling than DeSantis, considering that he is less well-known among GOP voters but has the same level of support.
The poll also shows that Trump continues to dominate the Republican field with 48 percent support and a 69 percent favorability rating.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott tied for third place with 5 percent support.
Behind them were former Vice President Mike Pence with 4 percent support, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 3 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson with 1 percent, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum with no support.
In a straw poll taken at the Turning Point Action conference last week, DeSantis, who did not attend the event, garnered just 4.3 percent support. Ramaswamy received 2 percent, while Trump crushed the competition with 85 percent support among attendees.
Slipping in the polls isn’t DeSantis’ only problem.
His campaign is burning through funds, resulting in the firing of several staffers. What’s more, most of DeSantis’ money has come from donors who have already reached their contribution limit and cannot donate again.
The Kaplan poll was conducted from Monday to Tuesday among 800 likely Republican primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.
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