In the USA Today/Suffolk University survey, a 2-to-1 margin of GOP and GOP-leaning voters said they like the former president's policies but they want a new and different standard bearer to carry them out.
The poll, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters last week, comes five weeks after the midterm elections when Trump formally announced he is running in 2024.
In the survey, 31% said say they want Trump to run but 61% said they prefer some other Republican nominee. Among the choices, the GOP voters chose Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump 56% to 33%.
The Florida governor is emerging as a looming competitor for 2024, especially after he sailed to re-election Nov. 8. Trump certainly signaled he views DeSantis as trouble by mocking the governor as he did to other GOP rivals during the 2016 presidential primary.
Jameson Taylor, director of policy and legislative affairs at AFA Action, says the poll is an endorsement of Trump’s policies as president.
“But it's also a sign,” Taylor concludes, “that voters have moved on from the 2020 election.”
It also appears, Taylor adds, that voters are looking for new leadership and are excited about DeSantis.
Farther down in the USA Today story, it acknowledges that DeSantis leads Joe Biden in a head-to-head poll 47% to 43%. Biden beats Trump among those voters 47% to 40%.
Looking ahead to 2024 Taylor concludes that Trump has two choices: Lose the White House to Joe Biden or be a “kingmaker” by backing DeSantis.
“[Trump] can have an endorsement of his policies [and] the principles that he has promoted,” Taylor says. “He can continue having influence over the different candidates.”
Editor's Note: AFA Action is an affiliate of the American Family Association, the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
