‘Continued slide’: Another South Carolina poll shows Ron DeSantis in third place

New polling from Winthrop University puts Ron DeSantis firmly in third place in South Carolina, a drop from second place the last time these pollsters were in the field.

DeSantis’ 12% is 8 points shy of where the Governor was previously. He has been eclipsed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, at 19%. Former President Donald Trump leads the pack with 48%.

Winthrop Poll Director Scott Huffmon contextualized the results as part of an ongoing DeSantis decline in the state and nationally.

“We continue to see Trump’s dominance for the nomination in South Carolina. While a distant second, support for Nikki Haley has grown. Haley’s rise coincides with the continued slide of Ron DeSantis with his drop in national polls being mirrored in South Carolina,” Huffmon remarked.

This isn’t the only poll showing a DeSantis drop. His own pollster shows the same, arguably even more dramatically.

Another fresh survey, conducted between Sept. 28 and Oct. 1 by Public Opinion Strategies for the Citizen Awareness Project, shows the Governor also in third place at 11% support. That’s down from 24% in a poll conducted June 1.

DeSantis has spent much of Wednesday in upstate South Carolina. He was in Spartanburg for his first stop at 10 a.m. at an American Legion post on West Park Drive. From there, he went to Greenville for a 12:30 stop.

DeSantis has said he’s a “great candidate” for South Carolina and has suggested that despite still being Governor of a different state, he may sign a sublease in South Carolina to make the sale to the state’s Republicans. Yet polling continues to find him well off the pace of not just the former President but also the former Governor of the state.

The Race to the White House polling average shows DeSantis in third place with 12%, trailing Trump (49%) and Haley (18%), but ahead of U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (8%).