A USA Today/Suffolk University poll of likely Florida midterm voters found that in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary matchup between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, 48% of likely 2024 GOP presidential primary voters would vote for or lean toward supporting DeSantis, while 40% would vote for or lean toward backing Trump.

A poll conducted earlier this year in January found that 40% would vote for or lean toward DeSantis, while 47% would vote for or lean toward Trump.

"This doesn't necessarily mean DeSantis would lead in any other GOP primary state," Suffolk University Political Research Center director David Paleologos noted, according to USA Today. "But it is one data point suggesting a shift in preferences from GOP voters away from Trump and toward DeSantis from Republicans who know both potential combatants quite well."

While Trump has not yet made an official announcement, he is widely expected to run again in 2024. The former president has said that he believes he would win, even if DeSantis were to run.

DeSantis is currently seeking reelection during the Sunshine State's 2022 gubernatorial election contest.

Democrat Charlie Crist, who previously served as Florida governor from early 2007 until early 2011, is challenging DeSantis. Crist was elected governor as a Republican, and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2010 as an independent. He lost the state's 2014 governor's race while running as a Democrat, and he recently resigned from Congress where he had been serving as a Democratic lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll of likely midterm voters found that 48% lean toward or plan to vote for DeSantis while 41% lean toward or plan to back Crist.

And in hypothetical head-to-head presidential election matchups against President Joe Biden, DeSantis fares much better than Trump. If DeSantis and Biden were facing off, 52% preferred Desantis compared to just 44% who chose Biden. But in a Trump vs. Biden scenario, 47% prefer Trump compared to 44% who would prefer Biden.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/desantis-trump-florida-primary-poll