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There is a clear favorite to win Florida’s 2024 GOP presidential primary on March 19, and it is interestingly not the state’s incumbent governor and presidential candidate.
President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Sunshine State, according to the results from the latest Miami-Dade straw poll of Republicans.
The Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee (REC) conducted a straw poll of who the party would support in 2024, and they overwhelmingly chose Trump.
Politico reported that of the 65 party members who met in Miami on Wednesday, 53 supported Trump, and only five voted for their own governor, DeSantis.
Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley came in third with three votes, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy followed with one vote.
Rep. Mario Díaz Blart, R-Fla., and Miami-Dade Commissioner René García, both of whom are not running for president, took one vote each. Former N.J. Chris Christie earned zero votes, coming in behind two individuals who are not even running.
The results of the straw poll spell bad news for DeSantis, who was the first Republican in 20 years to flip the reliably blue Miami-Dade County to red during his gubernatorial reelection in 2022.
Trump has worked tirelessly to secure voters and endorsements from Florida and surpasses the state’s governor among endorsements from Florida’s federal officials.
“I do think he has lost support,” an anonymous meeting member told Politico. “He and many of them have tried to move to the right of Trump. That’s not possible. Trump reflects the right. He is the standard.”
García also told the outlet that DeSantis is still popular in Florida, but only as the state’s governor.
“Gov. DeSantis has been a very good governor,” she told Politico. “But we want him for governor. Right now, we want President Trump for president, and it is what it is.”
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