Poll: Trump’s Lead over DeSantis Nationally Climbed 20 Points Since July

Former President Donald Trump’s lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has grown by 20 points nationally since July, according to the latest Marquette University poll. 

The poll, published on Wednesday, shows that 56 percent of registered Republicans and independents who lean Republican back Trump for the nomination. He has gained 10 points of support since July’s Marquette poll, which showed him at 46 percent. 

Conversely, DeSantis has lost ten points of backing since July and now holds twelve percent of support. As the poll was conducted from September 18-25, this marks a 20-point swing away from DeSantis toward Trump in just over two months’ time.

Notably, the New York Times reported Wednesday that the DeSantis campaign is moving a third of staff to Iowa and that it is strapped for cash, with just $5 million at the ready in his war chest for GOP primary purposes. 

DeSantis finds former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) on his heels with six percent of support, which is unchanged from her July showing. 

From there, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is tied with former Vice President Mike Pence in fourth place with four percent of backing. Ramaswamy is up three points compared to July’s poll, while Pence is down three percent. 

Another two percent of respondents back Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who held four percent of support in the Summer, while former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) remains at one percent. 

This portion of the poll sampled 381 respondents, and the margin of error (MOE) is plus or minus 6.7 percent. 

Marquette University also gauged a hypothetical general election match-up between Trump and President Joe Biden, finding different results among registered voters and likely voters. Trump leads with registered voters at 51 percent or 48 percent, whereas Biden has a 50 percent to 48 percent advantage among likely voters. 

Both data sets are within their respective margins of error, making them statistical ties. The MOE for the 868 registered voters is plus or minus 4.4 percent, while it is plus or minus 4.9 percent among likely voters. All samples were collected between September 18-25.