- More Republicans say they would prefer DeSantis to be their 2024 nominee over Trump.
- The finding, taken days after the midterms, is a reversal of previous polls that put Trump ahead.
A new poll shows that more Republicans would prefer to see Ron DeSantis as their 2024 presidential nominee than Donald Trump following the party's disappointing midterm election results.
42% of Republicans and Republican-leaners said they would prefer to see the Florida governor as the nominee, compared with 35% saying they would prefer the former president, according to a new YouGov America poll.
The poll, conducted in the three days following the elections, is a reversal from the results of a Yahoo News/YouGov poll last month, when 45% said they'd prefer Trump and 35% said they'd prefer DeSantis.
While DeSantis beat out Trump overall, scoring higher among "not very strong Republicans" and those that "lean towards" the GOP, Trump still edged him out among "strong Republicans," with 45% favoring him compared with 43% for DeSantis.
Many Trump-endorsed candidates lost or underperformed in the midterm elections while DeSantis handily won his race.
The expected Republican "red wave" failed to materialize and Democrats managed to hold on to control of the Senate, leading to Trump receiving criticism from within his party.
Trump, who is reportedly privately furious about the results, has publicly lashed out against DeSantis in recent days, calling him an "average governor" and suggesting he lacks loyalty for not ruling out a 2024 run.
The escalation of attacks suggests that Trump fears DeSantis to be a formidable political rival, setting the stage for a potentially divisive run-up to 2024 for the Republican party.
Trump has promised to make "a very big announcement" on November 15 at Mar-a-Lago, which is widely accepted to be about his third presidential run.
While reports suggest many are urging the former president to delay the announcement until the midterms dust settles, he appears determined to stick to his schedule, based on comments from those close to him and his campaign's emails to supporters.
While DeSantis has not given any clear indication on whether he will run, his allies expect him to make his announcement after the state legislative session ends in May, according to The Independent.