Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved into a virtual dead heat with former President Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in Florida, according to a new Victory Insights survey.
DeSantis earned 38.2% support and Trump earned 38%, with a 3.9% margin of error, in the Victory Insights poll. No other GOP candidate received more than 3.1%.
A total of 12% likely GOP voters said they were undecided, and 3.5% said they chose someone other than the candidates presented.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., (3.1%), former Vice President Mike Pence (2.5%), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (2.5%), and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (0.1%) also received support.
In a suggested head-to-head race between DeSantis and Trump, the governor (40.2%) leads Trump (39%) with the difference again falling within the error margin. A total of 20.8% were undecided.
"It's hard – and not our place – to tell whether these results will stick," wrote senior pollster Ben Galbraith in a poll summary.
"One could argue that DeSantis' jump in the polls is a knee-jerk reaction to his announcement, one that will pass quickly. However, one could also make the argument that this is just the start of DeSantis' campaign, and as he continues his outreach to voters, his vote share will increase. For now, all we know is that the race is close – and far from over."
In a Victory Insight poll in November, DeSantis led Trump by 10.9 percentage points in Florida. Last month, Trump held a 14.8 point lead. Both live in the state.
Florida Politics reported Saturday that leaked audio from a DeSantis donor meeting foresees the GOP nomination possibly being decided by Florida Republican voters.
"We're probably going to know who the nominee is after the state of Florida votes on March 19," pollster Ryan Tyson told donors, Florida Politics reported. "Florida is a winner-takes-all state."
DeSantis officially entered the 2024 GOP presidential race last week. Trump announced his candidacy soon after the November midterm elections.
The Victory Insights poll was conducted among 700 likely GOP voters between May 25-27.
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