President Donald Trump continues to hold a commanding lead among Republicans even as rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis prepares to jump into the presidential race.
Trump holds an outright majority, leading the field with support from 53 per cent of Republicans in the latest CNN / SSRS poll.
That puts his support at double that of DeSantis, who plans to announce his campaign in a Twitter chat with Elon Musk tongiht, and who is already absorbing attacks from Trump, who called him ‘disloyal’ and in need of a ‘personality transplant’ on his big day. DeSantis gets 26 per cent support in the poll.
His lead over DeSantis tops 30 per cent in the RealClearPolitics average, up from about 15 per cent earlier this spring.
It is a steep drop to the next group of challengers. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke to a grand jury about January 6 after a court fight about and who has weighed in on DeSantis’ spat with Disney, is at 6 per cent in the poll.
That is the same percentage as former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, whose campaign issued a memo Tuesday calling DeSantis a mere echo of Trump.
Republican voters surveyed say they have an open mind to others in the field. A total of 84 per cent say they are open to Trump, 85 per cent are open to DeSantis, 61 per cent are open to Haley, and 60 per cent are open to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
