45th President Donald Trump has overwhelming support from Republican voters when pitted up against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to a new poll conducted by Emerson College.
The poll found that 55% of Republicans support the former president in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary, with Governor DeSantis coming in second place with only 25%.
Remaining potential Republican candidates failed to reach double-digit support.
“There is a stark education divide among Republican primary voters,” Spencer Kimball, Emerson College’s Polling Executive Director. “A 71% majority of voters with a high school degree or less support Trump in 2024, whereas 14% support DeSantis.”
“A 53% majority of those with a college degree, some college, or associate’s degree, support Trump while 28% support DeSantis. By contrast, Republican voters with a postgraduate degree are most split: 32% support Trump, 29% support DeSantis, and 18% support Mike Pence for the Republican nomination,” he added.
According to Kimball, a stark age divide exists between President Trump and DeSantis supporters, with younger voters supporting the former president over the Florida firebrand by over 50 points.
“Younger voters under 50 break for Trump over DeSantis 67% to 14%,” Kimball said. “Voters between 50 and 64 break for Trump 54% to 32%, while Republicans over 65 are more split: 39% support Trump and 32% DeSantis.”
The poll comes as the two Republican figures have traded jabs at each other in the wake of the 2022 midterm election results and conversations over who will receive the Republican nomination in 2024.
President Trump officially announced his third bid for the White House earlier this month, declaring before a crowd of supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that “America’s comeback starts right now.”
TRUMP: "America's comeback starts right now." pic.twitter.com/sjgRSDq5SZ
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 16, 2022
Speculations as to who President Trump will select as his 2024 running mate took an interesting turn this week after it was revealed that billionaire rapper and fashion mogul Ye, formerly known as “Kanye West,” discussed sharing the 2024 ticket with the former president during a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday.
First time at Mar-a-Lago
Rain and traffic
Can’t believe I kept President Trump waiting
And I had on jeans Yikes
What you guys think his response was when I asked him to be my running mate in 2024?
— ye (@kanyewest) November 23, 2022
“First time at Mar-a-Lago Rain and traffic Can’t believe I kept President Trump waiting,” Ye wrote in a tweet. “And I had on jeans Yikes What you guys think his response was when I asked him to be my running mate in 2024?”