A new Morning Consult poll shows former President Donald Trump with his largest lead yet over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, just as political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy’s political prospects rising.
The poll of nearly 3,600 potential Republican primary voters, conducted May 5-7, finds Trump with 60 percent support, followed distantly by DeSantis, with 19 percent. Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former Vice President Mike Pence are tied for third, each with 5 percent, followed by former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (3 percent) and several other possible GOP presidential primary candidates — including former Wyoming congresswoman and Trump hater Liz Cheney — with a fraction of support.
“Three in 5 potential Republican primary voters back Trump’s bid for the GOP nomination, giving him his largest lead yet over his current and potential rivals since Morning Consult began tracking the race in December,” the poll notes.
Anti-woke crusader Ramaswamy’s name identification has nearly doubled since early March, with 39 percent of potential primary voters viewing him favorably. Those numbers are similar to U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), who has formed a presidential campaign exploratory committee.
Trump has taken notice of Ramaswamy’s rise in the Republican presidential primary polls.
In a statement released late last week, Trump said he’s pleased to see the biotech entrepreneur doing so well.
“He is tied with Mike Pence, and seems to be on his way to catching Ron DeSanctimonious,” Trump said in the statement, employing one of the derisive nicknames he’s used for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
A CBS/YouGov poll last week showed Trump (58 percent) up significantly on the field of declared and presumptive Republican contenders for the Republican Party nomination. DeSantis, who is expected to officially launch his campaign in the coming days, polled at 22 percent, followed by Ramaswamy and Pence, each at 5 percent, and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley at 4 percent. Ramaswamy and Haley declared their campaigns in February, while Pence continues to mull a run for the White House.
The most recent RealClearPolitics average of GOP presidential primary polls found Trump up by 29 points — 52.2 percent compared to DeSantis, at 23.1 percent.
The Morning Consult poll shows President Joe Biden with a slim 2 percentage point lead over Trump, and a 4-point advantage over DeSantis in hypothetical general election matchups. The poll’s margin of error is reported at plus or minus 1 to 2 percent.
DeSantis is the second choice of Republican voters, garnering 42 percent support, followed by Pence (15 percent), Ramaswamy (10 percent), and Haley (4 percent).
– – –
M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Vivek Ramaswamy” by Vivek Ramaswamy. Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Ron DeSantis.
