Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is more popular than former President Donald Trump with both working-class and college-educated Republicans, according to a new poll.
SO WHAT
Critics have questioned whether DeSantis’ appeal extends beyond GOP elites and conservative media.
THE NUMBERS
A Marquette Law School national survey released Thursday found that Republican and Republican-leaning voters prefer DeSantis to Trump by 20 points.
DeSantis’ favorability rating among Republicans is 60% compared to Trump’s 40%, per the national survey.
- Among GOP college graduates, DeSantis’ advantage grows to 80% versus 46%.
- Even non-college graduates lean toward DeSantis, 53% versus 46%.
- DeSantis was reelected in a landslide last month by winning 69% of rural voters and 60% of non-college voters, besting Trump’s showing with the groups in Florida in 2020.
THE BIG PICTURE
While DeSantis has yet to say if he’ll challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, that hasn’t stopped the former president and his supporters from suggesting the Florida governor is a tool of the establishment.
Commentator Nate Hochman noted in a recent essay that Trump’s power comes from the “populist appeal and the fierce loyalty” he enjoys with a segment of working class voters hostile to the establishment.
- Apparently, though, GOP’s lackluster performance in last months midterm elections and Trump’s mounting scandals and legal troubles have started to take a toll well beyond the pages of National Review.
