Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads former President Donald Trump among voters in their home state of Florida, according to the latest Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network poll of likely Florida midterm voters.
In a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary matchup, DeSantis (48%) now leads Trump (40%) by 8 points. That’s a sizable surge in popularity for the governor, who trailed Trump 47%-40% in a Suffolk poll taken in January.
“Donald Trump trailing in a contest with another Republican is a sea change,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “In the 2016 Florida GOP Primary, Trump easily defeated hometown favorite Senator Marco Rubio 46%-27%. At the moment, however, Florida Republicans would choose DeSantis, despite Trump being a Sunshine State resident.”
DeSantis is also leading the field in the 2022 race for governor, where he tops Democratic challenger Charlie Crist 48%-41%, as well as Independent Carmen Jackie Gimenez (3%) and Libertarian Hector Roos (1%), with 7% of voters undecided.
In the race for United States Senate, incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio (45%) leads Congresswoman Val Demings (41%), with Libertarian Dennis Misigoy, Independent Steven Grant, and Independent Tuan “TQ” Nguyen receiving 1% each, with 9% undecided.
This is the first public poll to list all of the candidates who are qualified for governor and US Senate on the Florida ballot.
Rubio’s lead over Demings has shrunk from 49%-41% in January to 45%-41% today. However, Demings hasn’t risen above 41% and still struggles with statewide name recognition, with 20% of likely midterm voters saying they have not heard of her and an additional 22% indicating that they have heard her name but have not formed an opinion.
“The potential re-election of Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio would make the state of Florida ground zero for the national Republican Party,” said Paleologos. “You’d have Rubio as the ranking Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the two favorites to win the 2024 Republican nomination for president in DeSantis and Trump. Not to mention the other Florida Senator Rick Scott, who became chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee last year.”