Ron DeSantis 16 points behind in new Pennsylvania poll

New polling from Pennsylvania shows Florida’s Governor well behind Donald Trump, but still in second place in the GOP presidential race.

The survey of 297 Republicans from the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College shows Trump shy of majority support but still ahead with 39%. Ron DeSantis is the only candidate in double digits, at 23%.

Further back, Vivek Ramaswamy is in third place with 9% support, followed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (6%), and Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, each at 5%. Chris Christie has 3% support, meanwhile, and Asa Hutchinson and Francis Suarez both stand at 1%.

The poll was in the field from Aug. 9 through Aug. 20. It represents the latest example of DeSantis decline during the spring and summer.

“Mr. Trump’s advantage over Governor DeSantis has widened considerably since April, although his relative vote share has stayed consistent,” notes a polling memo. Back then, DeSantis only trailed 40% to 34%.

Still, even these numbers are better for DeSantis than a June survey from a different pollster. Trump had 49% support, nearly doubling DeSantis’ 25% share in a Quinnipiac University poll.

The Pennsylvania Primary is late in the calendar currently, but lawmakers are making moves to move it up from the current April 23 date.

DeSantis took a trip to the Keystone State earlier this year, before he launched his campaign formally. The Governor addressed Republicans at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Harrisburg, offering largely familiar remarks in a speech that was well-received by the GOP faithful.

In recent months, DeSantis has played up his roots in the Rust Belt regions of Pennsylvania and neighboring Ohio as being key to surviving the left-wing crucibles of Yale and Harvard Law School.

He offered a reminiscence in his best-selling book, “The Courage to be Free.”

“I was geographically raised in Tampa Bay,” DeSantis writes, “but culturally my upbringing reflected the working-class communities in western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio — from weekly church attendance to the expectation that one would earn his keep. This made me God-fearing, hard-working and America-loving.”