Trump maintains double-digit lead over DeSantis in new Fox News poll

Former President Trump maintained his double-digit lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a new Fox News poll of current and potential GOP presidential candidates. 

The poll released Wednesday showed Trump with a clear lead with 53 percent of respondents supporting him, followed by DeSantis with 21 percent. Trump’s 32-point lead from this month is about the same as the 30-point lead he had over DeSantis in last month’s poll and an improvement from the 15-point lead he had in February. 

In the most recent poll, former Vice President Mike Pence came in third with 6 percent and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley came in fourth with 4 percent. The other names included received 3 percent or less. 

Trump and Haley have officially announced their candidacies for president, while DeSantis and Pence have not but have been widely speculated to be potential candidates. 

Trump held a majority of voters who said they supported him in 2020, with 57 percent saying they would back him again in 2024. About 20 percent of those voters said they support DeSantis, while 6 percent support Pence. 

Pollsters also found President Biden with a large lead over his two declared Democratic challengers — self-help author Marianne Williamson and environmental attorney and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Biden had support from 62 percent of Democratic primary voters polled, while Kennedy had 19 percent and Williamson had 9 percent. 

Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News poll with Democrat Chris Anderson, said Trump’s position in the GOP primary is only “marginally worse” than Biden’s in the Democratic primary. 

“That’s likely to change, but it underscores the reticence of partisans on either side to risk moving away from the frontrunner,” Shaw said. 

The poll found Biden and Trump’s favorability rating is similar, with 44 percent of respondents overall having a favorable rating of Biden and 43 percent having a favorable rating of Trump. 

The poll was conducted from April 21 to 24 among 1,004 registered voters. The margin of error for all registered voters was 3 points, the margin for GOP primary voters was 4.5 points and the margin for Democratic primary voters was 5 points.