In the wake of another bad national survey for Ron DeSantis, the pollster behind it is offering a sobering message.
“DeSantis’ message falls flat,” reads the headline from the latest Monmouth University snapshot of the Republican presidential race.
The memo details a damning indictment of a static race in the weeks since the Governor formally launched.
“DeSantis’ efforts to paint himself as both a stronger candidate and a more effective leader than Trump have largely failed to connect with the GOP electorate,” the pollster writes.
“When asked whom they would like to see as the Republican nominee for President in 2024, 46% of GOP-aligned and leaning voters name Donald Trump and 20% name DeSantis without any prompting. In a Primary ballot question that explicitly lists 14 announced candidates, Trump’s support increases to 54% while DeSantis’ vote share barely moves (22%) and no other candidate gets above 5%. In a head-to-head contest between just the two, Trump garners 55% support and DeSantis gets 35%.”
“DeSantis has not made any headway. The arguments that he’d be a stronger candidate and a more effective president than Trump have both fallen flat,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
DeSantis does beat Trump in one scenario: a head-to-head battle among “non-MAGA” Republicans. The Governor prevails there 47% to 39%.
The memo goes on to detail that DeSantis is seen as both less electable and less effective than the former President.
“Just 22% of Republican voters say that DeSantis would be a stronger candidate than Trump in a general election against incumbent President Joe Biden, but nearly twice as many (47%) say he would actually be weaker than Trump. Another 26% say DeSantis would be just as strong as Trump. On the question of governing, only 19% feel DeSantis would be more effective than Trump in running the country and getting his policies enacted, while 49% think Trump would be more effective than DeSantis. Another 30% say the two men would be equally as effective.”
DeSantis’ lack of traction comes amid falling favorability: The Governor enjoys a “largely positive rating (65% favorable and 18% unfavorable),” which has “steadily eroded from his top result of 80% favorable in February.”
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