Trump Has More Than Double the Support of Ron DeSantis – Former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead over his closest rival according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The seven-day poll, which was completed on Monday, showed that Trump had 47 percent within his party, more than double that of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who had just 19 percent support.
Trump’s star is also on the rise apparently, as he was up by four points from a June Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed that he had 43 percent support of Republicans.
The good news for DeSantis is that he is at least in the double digits, which no other GOP hopeful can claim. Vivek Ramaswamy, a former biotechnology executive, was at nine percent in the recent poll, up from just three percent in June; while former Vice President Mike Pence had seven percent support.
Trump Is Beating Ron DeSantis, Trails Biden
The bad news for Trump is that while he is the GOP favorite at this point, he actually trailed President Joe Biden in a hypothetical matchup – with the current president receiving 37 percent support to the former’s 35 percent.
The remaining 28 percent said they still weren’t sure who to pick, or that they’d vote for someone else or even no one at all.
More importantly, while each has the support of their base neither is viewed favorably outside their respective parties. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that just 31 percent of independents had a favorable opinion of former President Donald Trump while 32 percent found favor with President Joe Biden.
Age has been a favor for both candidates, but even more so for Biden, who will be 82 on Election Day 2024 and thus could be 86 when he leaves office.
Does Biden Have a Stronger Base?
While Trump won’t run unopposed – a point that has been the source of frustration for the former president who has made it clear he sees those running as being disloyal for daring to challenge him for the Republican nomination – Biden also faces a surprise challenger.
Biden currently maintains three times the support of his only real Democratic rival anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Though the younger Kennedy trails with just 15 percent of support compared to Biden’s 63 percent support with Democrats, it is still noteworthy that the challenger is actually polling higher than Pence!
Last month, in a poll from The Economist and YouGov Kennedy was viewed favorably by 49 percent of respondents, giving him the highest net favorability rating of 19 points. He was viewed unfavorably by 30 percent. That was higher than Biden and Trump, who each had the second-highest percentage of respondents viewing them favorably, with 44 percent saying so. Moreover, Biden had a minus-9 net favorability rating, while Trump had a minus-10 net favorability rating.
One of Many Potential Headaches for Biden
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be a headache for Joe Biden into the primaries – and it may last deep into and even beyond the primaries. There have been reports that he could be laying the groundwork for a third-party run next year.
Already there is the likelihood that Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia could take on a third-party bid with the No Labels movement, while former Yale professor and activist Cornell West is seeking, and will likely receive, the Green Party’s nomination.
Even if next year sees a Biden vs. Trump rematch, we should expect anything to happen.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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