DeSantis, Pence tied in 2024 Republican poll

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are the two front-runners in a new poll of potential 2024 Republican candidates that does not include former President Trump.

A new survey obtained by The Hill from GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, who polled for Trump’s 2020 campaign, shows Pence at 19 percent and DeSantis at 17 percent support among GOP primary voters in a potential nominating contest that does not include Trump. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is the only other contender to break double digits in the survey with 13 percent.

However, when Trump is thrown into the equation, they find themselves in a distant second and third place. When the former president is taken into account, Trump gets 51 percent support, trailed by Pence at 9 percent and DeSantis at 7 percent.

In a subset of the poll that only surveyed those who would vote for Trump, Pence and DeSantis are knotted up at 22 percent for who would be their second choice. Cruz comes in third with 19 percent.

“If President Trump chose not to run, it’s clear his supporters are already gravitating towards VP Mike Pence, FL. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Ted Cruz,” Fabrizio told Politico, which first reported on the poll. 

The survey marks a warning sign for a slew of other possible presidential contenders who trail badly in every combination of the poll.

With Trump in the race, Cruz finds himself with just 3 percent support, while South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, all hit just 1 percent. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) gets zero percent.

Those numbers improve just slightly with Trump out of the race, with Noem and Pompeo finding themselves at 4 percent and Hawley at 2 percent. Hogan and Cotton remain at 1 percent, while Scott is bumped up to 1 percent. 

While 2024 jockeying has already begun among several potential contenders, Pence has maintained a low profile since January. He broke his silence for the first time this week by publishing an op-ed in The Daily Signal calling into doubt the integrity of the 2020 election. 

DeSantis, meanwhile, has seen his star rise within the GOP in large part due to his approach to the coronavirus pandemic. While Florida has suffered more than 32,000 deaths, DeSantis garnered praise for refusing to shut down his state. A survey from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy released on Monday found the governor with a 53 percent approval rating, up from his 45 percent approval rating in July.

Fabrizio’s poll surveyed 1,264 Republican voters from Feb. 20-March 2 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percent.