A.G. Gancarski
New polling of Hawkeye State Republicans suggests Ron DeSantis may be making a surge in the pivotal caucus state.
A Trafalgar Group survey conducted from Dec. 1 through Dec. 4 shows that among 1,091 likely voters, the Florida Governor is in second place with 22% support, 4 points better than his November showing.
While Donald Trump enjoys a 23-point lead, at 45%, DeSantis is ahead of Nikki Haley’s 18%. Haley is also 4 points ahead of the previous month.
No other candidate has more than 5% support.
This poll is stronger than usual for the Florida Governor and the former South Carolina Governor both, per Race to the White House. The aggregation site’s average poll shows Trump with 45%, but DeSantis at 17% and Haley at 15%.
DeSantis has said he’s confident that he will ultimately prevail despite what surveys say six weeks before the Jan. 15 vote.
“If you look at past Iowa caucus winners, and compare to what people were saying in November with this poll or that poll, it almost never comes out the same way,” DeSantis said on “Meet the Press” Sunday.
“So we have a great base of support. We have a much wider base of people who are potential caucusgoers who believe that I’ve been a great Governor and would be a good President. And we’ve just got to bring that home when people start to make their decisions.”
The Governor claimed he saw “resistance on the ground” to “polls” and “pundits,” which he expects to reflect in his performance next month.
DeSantis also made hay of visiting all the counties in the state in the same interview, thus completing the “Full Grassley,” a reference to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s penchant for making the rounds in Iowa.
“Doing all 99 counties is a tradition here. It’s something that Governor Kim Reynolds advised that I do,” he said during the same interview.
While in Iowa, DeSantis said “consultants” offer different counsel about running that particular gauntlet.
“They will advise you not to do it,” DeSantis claimed on Saturday.
7 comments
FloridaPatriot
December 6, 2023 at 11:00 am
Iowans HAVE to be smarter than voting for either Trump or DeSantis, Right?
Corn Farmer
December 6, 2023 at 12:12 pm
I could turn this one on you right? How do you explain Kalifornia voting for Pelosi, Waters, Schiff, Harris? How do you explain the Squad? What about the countless “Blue” city mayors for instance Bowers, Cantrell, etc?
Marvin M.
December 6, 2023 at 1:47 pm
I took FloridaPatriot’s comment to mean the voting in the upcoming Iowa Republican primary caucus.
As in, there are other Republicans to vote for, why not consider them?
It has nothing to do with Democrats, or any of the ones you mention.
But since you brought all those other people up, as a citizen who is concerned about the continuation of democracy in this country, concerned about my personal freedoms, concerned that what’s in the constitution is going to be upheld, I have to say, my experience with DeSantis as my governor has shown me he is an authoritarian who will trample people’s rights, and Trump is already, himself, saying he will turn the military against protestors and use the government to go after his political enemies – also authoritarian. So heck yeah, I’d take Schiff, Pelosi, etc any day of the week over Trump or DeSantis.
But I will not be voting in the Republican primary here in Florida nor participating in the Republican Iowa caucus, which was the subject of this story and comment.
I would urge Iowa (or even Florida) Republicans to support any of the other Republican candidates for president than T or D. I’m so tired of typing out their names, and some bot is scouring these posts for names to data mine, so for that, all I have to say is Haley, Christie, Haley, Christie, Haley, Christie.
rick whitaker
December 6, 2023 at 1:16 pm
corn farmer, the poster was talking about iowa voters. none of the people you mentioned are running for president, and none are as crazy as trump or desantis. that’s called a false equivalency. a debate moderator would not allow that . btw, the people you did mention, are some of my favorite politicians .
Georgia Satellite
December 6, 2023 at 5:43 pm
Hey Tennessee Rick, how about Hank Johnson? Is he one of your favorites too? You buying into his theory that Guam might tip over if too many military people are put on that island? That is one dumb mofo.
Daniel Rousseau
December 6, 2023 at 3:44 pm
I believe Ron DeSantis will be a fine Governor of Iowa, so if they support him there, they can keep him there. Then they can watch their home and auto insurance premiums hit the sky and can have him ban books in schools.
rick whitaker
December 6, 2023 at 6:32 pm
georgia satellite, i have never met anyone who has never said something stupid. trump has said plenty of stupid things, but he would NEVER admit to EVER saying even one thing stupid. i haven’t heard of the hank johnson statement you mentioned. i don’t watch fox, so i might have missed it. i have heard comments by marjorie taylor greene and lauren boebert that i thought were dumb. i regularly say dumb things. i guess since you are criticizing someone solely on one comment, that you are perfect. i’m so glad to have finally in my 71 years met someone perfect. it’s an honor to know you.
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