According to a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll, former President Donald Trump is currently leading the Republican primary race by a significant margin.
When asked to choose between Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and “someone else,” 45% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents chose Trump. DeSantis came in second place with 33% of the vote, while Pence only received 8%. 11% of respondents chose “someone else,” and 3% were unsure.
When breaking down the results by party affiliation, Trump leads among Republicans with 48% of the vote, while DeSantis received 32%. However, among independents, DeSantis holds a slight lead with 38% of the vote, compared to Trump’s 36%.
The survey was conducted between December 6-8, 2022, among 489 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and has a margin of error of +/- 5.6% and +/- 5.7%, respectively.
Trump is the only Republican who has formally announced his intention to run in 2024, while DeSantis has not made any formal announcements and has dismissed rumors of a 2024 bid as “purely manufactured.” Despite this, Trump has referred to DeSantis as a “fine guy” but also warned that a 2024 bid could “hurt himself very badly.” DeSantis has brushed off the speculation as “noise” and called for people to “chill out a little bit.” Recent polls have shown inconsistent results, with some showing DeSantis leading Trump and vice versa.
