Donald Trump continues to stretch his lead over Ron DeSantis in the Lone Star State.
A survey conducted between March 30 and April 2 by CWS Research and commissioned by the Defend Texas Liberty PAC finds the former President is supported by more than half of those surveyed, with more than double the support of the Florida Governor, who still is his nearest competition.
Fifty-two percent of the 1,067 likely voters in the 2024 Republican Primary say they back Trump, with just 20% claiming to back DeSantis. Undecided voters are the next biggest group, making up 12% of the sample, with other names much farther back.
Former Vice President Mike Pence earns 5% support, United Nations envoy Nikki Haley is at 4%, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who has ruled out a run, draws 3% support.
This survey, conducted as Trump’s 34-count federal indictment was finalized, is the latest CWS Research poll showing DeSantis losing ground over previous months against Trump. A survey conducted between Feb. 28 and March 2 found 43% of the 867 respondents backing Trump, with DeSantis 16 points behind.
In a January survey from the same outfit, Trump held a narrow 36% to 35% advantage. The same pollster had DeSantis leading Trump back in November, with 43% support being good for an 11-point lead over Trump. That represented the high point of a surge; back in July 2022, Trump held a 19-point lead over DeSantis in the same survey.
Ahead of the latest poll, Trump held a rally in the West Texas town of Waco, where the former President devoted part of the speech to denunciations of “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
In the span of five minutes, Trump touched on various themes, making the case that the Florida Governor, a runner-up to Trump in most polling, doesn’t measure up. He mentioned DeSantis’ previous positions on senior citizen entitlements, recounted the story of the brokered 2018 endorsement, and trashed DeSantis’ performance as Florida Governor.
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