2024 Election Poll: Trump Leads DeSantis By 17 Points In GOP Match-up

Former President Donald Trump maintains a nearly 20-point lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary match-up, according to a new poll.

In a Morning Consult survey published Wednesday, at least 48% of potential Republican primary voters said they would back Trump if the 2024 caucus was held in their state today. That is a 17-point lead over DeSantis, who only got 31% of the votes.

Other potential nominees named in the poll were former Vice President Mike Pence with 8%, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wis.) with 3%, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley with 2% and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) with 2%. No other Republican nominee received more than 1% of the vote.

Trump's performance was slightly better in this poll compared to the survey published on Jan. 10, which saw 46% of voters naming Trump as their candidate of choice in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary. DeSantis, however, performed worse this week, securing 2% fewer votes compared to last Tuesday's survey.

Among Trump voters in the most recent poll, DeSantis maintained a clear lead against other Republican nominees, with 44% of respondents backing the Florida governor. Pence came in second with 20%, followed by Cruz with 7%.

In comparison, only 37% of DeSantis supporters named Trump as their second choice. At least 14% backed Pence and 13% voted for Haley.

In terms of favorability, 77% said they have a favorable view of Trump, a 4-point increase from last week's 73%. Meanwhile, only 69% of voters said they have a favorable view of DeSantis, down four points from last week.

DeSantis has yet to announce whether he plans to run for president in 2024. However, in October, he refused to commit to serving another four-year term as Florida's governor during a debate against Democrat Charlie Crist.

The poll comes just days before Trump is expected to host his first 2024 campaign event in South Carolina, a state whose evangelical population has long played a critical role in the presidential primary. The former president, however, is struggling to get endorsements from the state's religious conservatives, leading him to accuse them of "disloyalty."