As we approach the coming midterm elections, which are important in and of themselves, there are plenty of political observers who are already looking beyond and on to the 2024 contest that looms large over the horizon.
In that far-but-not-far-enough election, there are only a few things that we know for certain: President Joe Biden insists that he’ll be running for office again, (much to the dismay of the Democrats), former President Donald Trump will remain the presumptive GOP nominee until he decides otherwise, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has done everything but admit that he’s thinking about running.
In most polls that have tackled the idea of DeSantis versus Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, Trump has handily won.
But a new survey, which takes into account a very strange, yet possible, turn of events, is flipping the script and putting DeSantis in the driver’s seat.
If DeSantis were to secure the Republican presidential nomination — a mighty big “if” — Trump would have to decide whether or not to run as an independent candidate.
That’s the scenario that was imagined in a new YouGov poll released this week that illustrates the dilemma facing Republicans in 2024.
Respondents were asked, “If the 2024 presidential election were held today between the following candidates, who would you vote for?”
This is where it gets downright odd…
Among registered voters, 44 percent responded “Joe Biden, the Democrat,” a full 21 points ahead of the runner-up, DeSantis — whose 23 percent support is a full five points higher than the 18 percent who said they’d vote for “Donald Trump, running as an Independent.”
And in that same matchup, among Trump voters, 51 percent said they’d vote for DeSantis, with only 36 percent saying they would vote for Trump.
Desantis has yet to publicly admit that he’s considering a run for the White House, but some of his behind-the-scenes action seems to provide ample evidence of his intent.
