Donald Trump is trailing behind Ron DeSantis by 20 points in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary for the 2024 elections, opinion polls showed.
The poll by Deseret News-Hinckley Institute of Politics in the Republican stronghold Utah voters showed Florida Governor DeSantis taking a decisive lead in the race at 24.2 per cent followed by Liz Cheney with 16.4 per cent, and Trump placed third with 14.6 per cent, the Hill reported.
However, 20.7 per cent of Utah voters said they haven’t decided which candidate they would support.
The latest polls indicate that Trump’s popularity may be slipping among ardent Republican supporters.
DeSantis, who was comfortably re-elected last month, has yet to declare if he intends to run for the 2024 elections, but his popularity seems to be surging.
The Florida governor is viewed as the main rival of the former president as he shares most of Trump’s political positions.
The opinion poll conducted by the Desert News-Hinckley Institute of Politics between November 18 and November 23 mirrors several other surveys which peg DeSantis firmly ahead of Trump.
According to the national survey released by Marquette Law School, Trump’s unfavourable rating has increased to 67 per cent among registered voters, with one-third of Republicans and GOP-leaning voters now viewing him negatively.
Trump’s dwindling popularity is co-terminus with the disappointing midterm election results, which saw several candidates backed by the former president losing.
A poll released by WPA Intelligence last week, which polled 1,160 registered voters in America, confirmed as much when it found that a full 64 per cent of all voters blame the ex-president for the poor showing by GOP candidates in the midterms.
(With inputs from agencies)
