Photo: Alamy
With next year’s primary election around the corner, President Trump’s polling margins against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continue to grow to unprecedented levels: this time in the Lone Star State.
According to CWS Research’s latest poll of 406 Likely Voters, Trump led a group of nine primary opponents by 51 points in Texas, carrying 61 percent support.
Meanwhile, DeSantis placed second to the 45th president with 10 points, a 26-point drop in his support from December.
In a head-to-head matchup between Trump and DeSantis, the 45th president led the governor by 38 points (62 percent to 24 percent).
Other Republicans covered in the survey included former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley (five percent), former Vice President Mike Pence (five percent), businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (three percent), former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, and former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie (two percent).
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, S.C. Sen. Tim Scott, and N.D. Gov. Doug Burgum received one percent support or less, according to the survey.
Trump’s support among Texas GOP voters has almost doubled since December 2022. What initially appeared to be a tight race between Trump and DeSantis has seemingly divulged into a one-man primary.
From December 2022, Trump’s lead in the Lone Star State jumped from one point over DeSantis to 14 points in February. From February to June, his lead skyrocketed to 32 points over the governor.
His support among primary voters has also not faltered amid his four political indictments. In fact, his polling leads have grown substantially after each of his indictments.
From the beginning of Trump’s third indictment to the end of his fourth, his lead increased to 51 points in Texas. Further, 79 percent of the Texas Republicans surveyed said that Trump should be found “not guilty” for the reported crimes he is accused of.
A victory in Texas will be a huge prize to its winner in 2024. The state holds 162 delegates, the second-highest amount of delegates up for grabs in any one state.
The delegates will be awarded on a winner-take-most basis and will be awarded to candidates proportionally based on their earned percentage of support.
The Texas GOP primary will take place on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.