Gov. Ron DeSantis is headed back to South Carolina on Friday, where yet another poll of the 2024 GOP Primary shows him far behind both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump.
The Fabrizio, Lee, and Associates survey of 600 likely voters finds the Florida Governor with just 11% support.
With 24%, the former South Carolina Gov. Haley doubles DeSantis. And with 53% support, the former President has nearly five times the support the Florida Governor does in the key early state.
Allocation of the state’s 50 delegates to the Republican National Convention favors the overall winner, with 29 going to the candidate that wins overall, and the winner of each of the state’s seven Congressional districts getting three delegates per localized triumph.
The pollsters’ “bottom line” underscores the quickly crystallizing narrative that DeSantis is an afterthought in the Palmetto State: “While South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary Voters may like Haley, they clearly love President Trump. 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.”
DeSantis will be in Greer, Prosperity, Clinton, and Charleston Friday, resuming a normal campaign schedule after a debate Thursday night in Georgia with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Meanwhile, this latest poll joins a parade of public opinion surveys showing a DeSantis decline in South Carolina.
A recent Winthrop University survey of 626 registered Republicans shows DeSantis at 12% support, a distant third place behind Donald Trump (52%) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (17%).
A CNN survey of 738 likely Republican voters conducted from Oct. 18 through Oct. 25 showed DeSantis with 11% support.
DeSantis has said he’s a “great candidate” for South Carolina and has suggested that despite still being Governor of a different state, he may sign a sublease in South Carolina to make the sale to the state’s Republicans. Yet if these polls are dependable, he needs to call a Realtor sooner than later to make progress against a favorite daughter and a still-popular former President.
The post Another South Carolina poll slots Ron DeSantis in a distant 3rd place appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..