Poll: Ramaswamy Gains on DeSantis as Trump Maintains Majority in GOP Primary Field, Fares Best Against Biden

Former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary field while Vivek Ramaswamy surges into double digits and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) falls, according to a national Fox News survey. 

The poll, overseen by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), shows that 53 percent of registered voters who are likely to vote in a GOP primary or caucus back Trump for the nomination.

He has dropped three points since June’s poll but is still 37 points ahead of DeSantis at 16 percent. Notably, DeSantis pinged at 22 percent in April, marking a six-point drop since then. In other words, Trump’s lead has grown three points in two months. 

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally on May 28, 2022, in Casper, Wyoming. (Chet Strange/Getty Images)

Conversely, Ramaswamy has surged six points since June’s poll and finds himself on DeSantis’s heels with eleven percent. The poll echoes a trend in other national surveys released this week that show the momentum-backed 37-year-old moving into second place. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence lands in fourth place with five percent support, followed by former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) with four percent. Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) tie at three percent, and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) rounds out the field with one percent. 

The poll also gauged respondents’ second choices for the nomination aside from their preferred candidate. Just over a quarter of the respondents say DeSantis is their backup plan, while 17 percent say Ramaswamy. Trump takes the third most at 14 percent, followed by Pence at 10 percent. 

This portion of the poll included 413 GOP primary voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. 

In hypothetical general election matchups between several of the Republican candidates and President Joe Biden, Trump fares the best, though he trails Biden. In a rematch of the 2020 election, Trump takes 41 percent of the support among the 1,002 registered voters sampled to Biden’s 44 percent. As the margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent for the full sample, they are statistically tied. 

The gap widens when DeSantis is the GOP nominee, with Biden remaining at 44 percent and DeSantis at 39 percent. Ramaswamy finds himself four points behind Biden, at 38 percent and 42 percent, respectively. 

All samples were taken from August 11-14.