Polling continues to show Ron DeSantis as the leading alternative to Donald Trump for Republicans in 2024.
The latest example comes from Pennsylvania, where DeSantis is up in a hypothetical faceoff between the Florida Governor and the former President.
A survey conducted by Commonwealth Partners between Nov. 19 and Nov. 21 shows DeSantis commanding 45% support, 5 percentage points ahead of Trump at 40%.
While Trump is ahead among Republican registrants who “definitely” support one of the candidates, 29% to 28%, this result offers an indication of a ceiling when it comes to softer support. While 16% of respondents said they “probably” backed DeSantis, only 10% said they “probably” backed the former President.
Nearly one in six respondents would not commit to either choice, with 4% opting for “neither” or another candidate, and 12% declaring themselves “undecided” in what was presented as a binary choice.
Consistent with these results, DeSantis is regarded more favorably than Trump by the 639 Pennsylvania Republicans polled.
The Governor is +69 with GOP registrants in the Keystone State, with 77% regarding him favorably and 8% going the other way. Trump, meanwhile, was just +56, with 74% regarding him favorably and 18% with an unfavorable view of the former President.
A full 25% of respondents voted in the last four Primaries, with 28% voting in three of four and another 25% voting in two of the last four.
Both DeSantis and Trump campaigned in Pennsylvania during the 2022 cycle, though with less than successful outcomes in each case. DeSantis showed up for GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, who lost a lopsided contest. Trump was in the state up until days before the election, when he stumped for failed Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, and spotlighted polling showing him up big against GOP challengers.
“We’re winning big, big, big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said, spotlighting a favorable national poll. “There it is, Trump at 71%, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10%.”
While national polling continues to be wildly different, state surveys increasingly show DeSantis as a real threat to Trump getting the nomination for the third time.
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