Republican voters from the Volunteer State are clearly leaning toward Donald Trump in next year’s Presidential Primary.
That’s the takeaway from the new Vanderbilt Poll of 503 Republican voters from Tennessee.
“Trump is the overwhelming favorite among Republicans. When asked alongside all other Republican candidates, 56% of all Republican voters selected Trump as their preferred candidate — far more than the percentage choosing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (20%) and former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley (12%),” reads a polling memo accompanying the results.
Trump’s strength is largely derived from so-called MAGA Republicans. Among that subset, he has 79% support compared to 10% for DeSantis and 5% for Haley.
Among non-MAGA Republicans, DeSantis is more competitive, with 30% support compared to 36% for Trump. Haley has just 20% among that cohort.
Though this is yet another lopsided poll from Tennessee, it’s actually better for DeSantis than the Beacon Poll from October, in which Trump is the choice of 63%, leading DeSantis by 47 points.
The March 5 Primary is a “winner-take-all” affair, with 58 delegates to the Republican National Convention at stake. As of now, that Tennessee trove of votes is Trump’s for the taking.
DeSantis has appeared in Tennessee during this campaign, but got the most news coverage for an event on an interstate highway rather than a formal speech.
The Governor’s motorcade was involved in a multicar accident in Chattanooga in July but was uninjured. The accident briefly stalled DeSantis’ progress to a campaign event in the East Tennessee city.
At the time, Team DeSantis said it appreciated “the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail.”
Earlier in July, DeSantis delivered a keynote speech for an event held by the Tennessee Republican Party. Among the highlights: a promise to maintain fiscal discipline in a manner unseen since Ronald Reagan.
“We need to have a President that can go into Washington and will actually hold the line on excessive spending and we haven’t had that probably since Ronald Reagan,” DeSantis said.
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