Poll: Ron DeSantis drops to third place in national survey of GOP primary
Image via Fox News

DeSantis Fox News
With Black voters, DeSantis has 2% support, good for 8th place in the field.

Ron DeSantis has fallen behind both Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy in a new national poll, the latest to show the Governor’s slide among GOP Presidential Primary voters.

DeSantis has just 10.4% support in a Cygnal survey conducted from Aug. 1 through Aug. 3, putting him 1 point behind Ramaswamy (11.4%). Trump leads with 53.3% support.

If there is a positive takeaway for DeSantis, other candidates are in single digits, including fourth place Mike Pence, who has 6.6% support.

Still, the Cygnal polling memo spotlights the DeSantis decline in its “insights and analysis” section, noting the Governor “has plummeted from having 29% of the vote in March.”

The crosstabs indicate specific areas of difficulty for DeSantis, none more vividly than Black voters, of whom just 2% back DeSantis. This puts him behind Trump, Ramaswamy, Pence, Chris ChristieNikki HaleyLarry Elder and Ryan Binkley, suggesting that the Governor’s position that slavery benefited enslaved people isn’t selling with Black Republican voters.

Despite messaging heavily around his wife and his children, and the war on “woke” that has compelled him to fight with The Walt Disney Co. after the entertainment giant dared to question the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, DeSantis is in fourth place among parents, with 7% support. Trump, Ramaswamy and Pence lead with that seemingly critical demographic.

DeSantis’ 6% with independent voters, eligible to vote in open Primaries in places that aren’t Florida, also puts him in fourth place behind those three candidates.

The Governor also, at least according to this poll, lacks regional appeal in the South. While his 8% is good for second place, Trump is at 60% in the region.

DeSantis’ strongest region is the Midwest, meanwhile, where he has 13% support. He also reaches that threshold with men aged 55 or older.

His best demographic, however, is college educated women. With that group, the Governor has 14% support.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


26 comments

  • DeSanctimonious will never be President

    August 10, 2023 at 10:54 am

    Still too high! No one likes you DeSantis. Drop out!

  • Jake

    August 10, 2023 at 11:00 am

    Ron Desantis, lame duck governor. Time for his yes folks to pile on! Next up, lawsuits and returning rights taken illegally!

  • Michael K

    August 10, 2023 at 11:00 am

    Can’t imagine why Black voters don’t like him.
    /s

  • PeterH

    August 10, 2023 at 11:55 am

    Here’s the real news that Republicans should know and it has absolutely nothing to do with the polls.

    1. Seventy Nine people testified before Jack Smith’s January 6th investigation and not a single person testifying was a Democrat. Not one!
    2. Every Republican candidate running for President of the United States has stated they would impose a total nationwide ban on abortion.
    3. Young “woke” Americans defined Tuesday’s Ohio vote on an underhanded Republican attempt to alter their State’s constitution.
    4. Lacking any cause whatsoever Ron DeSantis fired yet another Florida elected prosecutor. Notable this African American elected prosecutor started her term in January of 2021 just two years ago. Since this has now made national media it is highly unlikely African Americans will look kindly on this politically motived maneuvering.

    • Logan

      August 10, 2023 at 12:23 pm

      Vivek has openly come out and said that while he himself is pro-life, he would not sign a federal abortion ban.

      • Dont Say FLA

        August 10, 2023 at 12:47 pm

        “Not signing” just means “allowing to auto-pass after ten days without signature or veto.” It doesn’t mean anything useful.

        A President “Not signing” an abortion bill means only a ten day delay waiting period before the bill becomes federal law.

        Vivek is trying to pull the wool by saying he would not sign a federal abortion ban.

        What Vivek is saying is he will absolutely allow a federal abortion ban via his inaction, via his failure to veto.

        In absence of a Presidential veto, any bill passed by Congress becomes law after ten days even if the President does not sign it.

        Vivek isn’t promising to veto any federal abortion ban. Vivek isn’t promising to prevent in any way any federal abortion ban.

        Vivek is just another conning GOP, pulling the wool over the eyes of ignorant Americans.

        • Dont Say FLA

          August 10, 2023 at 1:04 pm

          An addendum on media manipulation:

          When the reporter you watch asks if a Presidential candidate would sign a bill into law, and that candidate responds “No, I would not sign that bill into law,” they are both in on presenting as if that law would not be enacted if the candidate were President.

          While some reporters might, theoretically, just be ignorant of basic civics in USA, the candidate definitely knows how a bill becomes a law. The honest candidate would respond with one of these three possible answers:

          1- “Yes i would sign it”
          2- OR “I would not sign that bill into law. I would veto it” –
          3- OR ‘i would not sign that bill into law. I would leave it to auto-enact after 10 days.”

          Any candidate failing to give a complete answer when stating they will not sign that bill into law, they are manipulating YOU. As Vivek is doing here with the abortion ban question.

          Vivek’s abortion ban question was no doubt asked by a FoxNewsMax reporter or perhaps a foreign reporter that just started covering US politics and, in theory, doesn’t know any better. Or, maybe, just maybe, Vivek did answer fully but FoxNewsdMax picked up just the first part, with Vivek saying he wouldn’t sign that bill into law. Perhaps Vivek went on to say he would allow it to pass without signature or maybe he said he would veto it. I didn’t see the interview.

          But the, to use Rhonda’s words, “The Narrative” that a national abortion ban is off the table because whatever GOP candidate says they won’t sign that bill into law, that narrative is manipulative and purposefully deceiving anyone and everyone who thinks there would not be a national ban on abortion if a GOP President were presented with one.

          No legitimate, experienced reporter/interviewer in USA would ask a President if they would sign a bill into law. Reason: Because that question elicits a meaningless answer when the answer is the totally incomplete “No. I would not sign that bill into law.”

          If your favorite reporter asks that question but doesn’t follow up the nonsense “No” answer, your favorite reporter is manipulating you.

          • Dont Say FLA

            August 10, 2023 at 1:07 pm

            Same goes for internet commenters, of course, except internet commenters are mostly just parroting what MSNBCNN or FoxNewsMax told them and have no idea how a bill becomes a law. LOL, Looking at you, “Logan.”

          • PeterH

            August 10, 2023 at 4:04 pm

            Points well taken! Thanks!

    • Naresh Rammohan

      August 10, 2023 at 2:08 pm

      Not true… Vivek said he believes in federalism and states’ rights like any other Libertarian, which means abortion would still be legal until the time of birth in communist states.

      • Dont Say FLA

        August 10, 2023 at 2:25 pm

        Not signing a bill, that means it becomes law. If you believe Vivek “not signing” a bill means “it won’t become law during a Vivek administration,” you are both mistaken and manipulated.

        If you were correct, Vivek would declare he would veto a national abortion ban bill if it were put on his Presidential desk.

      • Larry

        August 11, 2023 at 10:44 am

        States rights? Sheesh! What consistent libertarian believes in states rights? Libertarianism is about individual (property) rights. But most people who claim to be “libertarian” have not taken time to understand that ideology.

    • Rookie

      August 10, 2023 at 4:57 pm

      What a Leftist Comment.. Lacking any cause whatsoever Ron DeSantis fired yet another Florida elected prosecutor. She was put on administrative leave for board review. She has a record of releasing every Black Criminal that comes to her court. Your entire message is Void.

  • Dont Say FLA

    August 10, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    Ron’s only in 3rd place? It seems so much worse than that. Polls must lag the reality on the ground. Ron is about 10th place IRL, IMO, and there’s only 9 declared candidates in the GOP Primary.

  • My Take

    August 10, 2023 at 1:01 pm

    The Loathsome Loser

  • Greg Klein

    August 10, 2023 at 1:19 pm

    Time for Rhonda’s campaign to re-shuffle–it’ been almost 48 hours!!

  • Sqoo

    August 10, 2023 at 3:05 pm

    Can you imagine polling behind a non-Christian in a GOP primary? It’s too good!

  • My Take

    August 10, 2023 at 5:39 pm

    It is quite entertaining watching DeSSgustus fail.
    On with the show!

  • Chucky

    August 10, 2023 at 6:57 pm

    This is what happens when a candidate for national office has policies that carry more than a whiff of Nazism.

  • My Take

    August 10, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    The foul fragrance of fascism

  • Lolo

    August 10, 2023 at 8:40 pm

    Trump/Ramaswamy 2024 OR Trump/Scott 2024 OR Trump/Kennedy 2024. Yep, TRUMP/KENNEDY. That would be great for America, bring relief and restore justice.
    Haley is an irritating, uninspiring female. Not a smart choice.
    DeSantis isn’t GOP Presidential material, best as Governor. He carries himself without confidence.
    Pence is like day of the dead living. Shallow, empty, shell of a man.
    Christie is a big mouth, boring and arrogant blowhard, without the intelligence to back it up.
    Elder is best being a political commentator. NOT President.

    Biden and Harris have disgraced the USA on a level that must be overturned by fearless and capable GOP candidates. Or, a GOP/Democrat ticket. Wouldn’t that be a real “change.” Above all, Harris has got to go. This barren, vacant VP is a blathering waste of a woman.
    TRUMP/KENNEDY?

    • My Take

      August 10, 2023 at 9:55 pm

      TRUMP! Because Caligula is dead.

    • My Take

      August 10, 2023 at 9:58 pm

      I like how Trump’s whole family has abandoned him. Will they even visit on visiting day?

    • Larry

      August 11, 2023 at 10:46 am

      Trump/Kennedy would be a great losing ticket. Two losers losing together. That’s very sweet. Maybe if they team up they can get to the bottom of Hunter Biden.

      • Dont Say FLA

        August 11, 2023 at 12:11 pm

        All’s it takes is $30 and you can get anything you want from Hunter Biden, including but not limited to Hunter’s bottom.

  • CAESAR SMITH

    August 20, 2023 at 9:38 am

    OMG Ronnie….tanking behind a totally inexperienced dude that doesn’t even believe in climate change as the entire US is in climate turmoil. I suppose hating Mickey Mouse is even more stupid than the climate change thing. I look forward to your drop to last place after the debate…better wear your bumper suit…landing on your ass could be a very hard landing.

Comments are closed.


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