ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a generous lead against former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical Wall Street Journal poll.
In the poll for the Republican primary, DeSantis gathered 52 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 38 percent. In addition, DeSantis' name seems to ring bells as only about 10 percent of likely GOP primary voters said they didn't know enough about him to form an opinion.
DeSantis, who was recently re-elected as governor of Florida, has not announced a presidential campaign, however, speculation has it that he could be eying the top spot at the White House. Trump announced a third try for president back in November. Meanwhile, the Florida governor said people need to "chill out" when it comes to the presidential race.
The poll also found that DeSantis is "well-liked" among Republicans with 84 percent favorability, The Wall Street Journal reports, compared with Trump's 71 percent.
Following Trump's 2024 presidential campaign announcement in November, the former president took aim at DeSantis — who used to be one of his biggest allies. In a series of tweets, he repeated the "Ron DeSanctimonious" nickname he first used at a Pennsylvania rally last weekend and reduced DeSantis to "an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations."
Trump undercut DeSantis' COVID-19 response, saying Florida benefited from the "advantage of SUNSHINE" rather than the governor's anti-lockdown approach. He also claimed his endorsement is what led to DeSantis' victory in 2017 during his first run for governor.
While Trump is the only Republican to announce a bid for the GOP primary, more are expected to sprout in the coming months.
