by RAHEEM J. KASSAM
Ron DeSantis starts off the week with yet more bad news for his campaign, as the first Rasmussen Reports head-to-head since his glitch-ridden campaign launch shows the Florida Governor actually losing support.
A like-for-like study released by Rasmussen on Monday morning reveals DeSantis’s February 2023 numbers at 32 percent with likely Republican voters, whereas he slips to 30 percent in the latest, May poll.
And while the Florida Governor’s slippage is with Rasmussen’s three point margin of error, former President Donald Trump’s massive spike in support is definitely not. The 45th President rose a whopping 13 points in comparison to February, and since DeSantis’s campaign launch. He now stands at 58 percent, versus 45 percent just three months ago.
Amongst all likely voters – including Democrats and independents – DeSantis was actually slightly leading Trump before his announcement (30% vs 26%). In the latest poll, however, Trump has taken the lead, even increasing his appeal amongst Democrat voters. The numbers now stand at 34 percent to Trump and 33 percent to DeSantis.
Curiously, the Florida Governor’s biggest strides appear to be with self-identified liberal voters, per Rasmussen, though he still is unable to beat Joe Biden in a head-to-head in the same data set.
