A.G. Gancarski
Republican voters from the Volunteer State are clearly leaning toward Donald Trump in next year’s Presidential Primary.
That’s the takeaway from the new Vanderbilt Poll of 503 Republican voters from Tennessee.
“Trump is the overwhelming favorite among Republicans. When asked alongside all other Republican candidates, 56% of all Republican voters selected Trump as their preferred candidate — far more than the percentage choosing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (20%) and former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley (12%),” reads a polling memo accompanying the results.
Trump’s strength is largely derived from so-called MAGA Republicans. Among that subset, he has 79% support compared to 10% for DeSantis and 5% for Haley.
Among non-MAGA Republicans, DeSantis is more competitive, with 30% support compared to 36% for Trump. Haley has just 20% among that cohort.
Though this is yet another lopsided poll from Tennessee, it’s actually better for DeSantis than the Beacon Poll from October, in which Trump is the choice of 63%, leading DeSantis by 47 points.
The March 5 Primary is a “winner-take-all” affair, with 58 delegates to the Republican National Convention at stake. As of now, that Tennessee trove of votes is Trump’s for the taking.
DeSantis has appeared in Tennessee during this campaign, but got the most news coverage for an event on an interstate highway rather than a formal speech.
The Governor’s motorcade was involved in a multicar accident in Chattanooga in July but was uninjured. The accident briefly stalled DeSantis’ progress to a campaign event in the East Tennessee city.
At the time, Team DeSantis said it appreciated “the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail.”
Earlier in July, DeSantis delivered a keynote speech for an event held by the Tennessee Republican Party. Among the highlights: a promise to maintain fiscal discipline in a manner unseen since Ronald Reagan.
“We need to have a President that can go into Washington and will actually hold the line on excessive spending and we haven’t had that probably since Ronald Reagan,” DeSantis said.
6 comments
Michael K
December 14, 2023 at 12:56 pm
Frank Bruni just wrote that Rhonda is without joy. That pretty well sums up why no one likes him and why he continues his downward spiral.
Marvin M.
December 14, 2023 at 2:45 pm
OK, so, in the R primary, DeSantis is probably not going to win Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee or Florida. I know the primaries are not tomorrow and things can change but still … what states can DeSantis actually win, because, he has to win in order to, y’know, win. He’s already been a big crybaby about Nevada, so … where else? Is there any state, any state at all in this country, that actually wants Ron DeSantis as President?
Dont Say FLA
December 14, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Maybe the Mama Grizzly bullshit from Jill will win Alaska for them.
Silly Wabbit
December 15, 2023 at 4:46 pm
Delusional State.
Dont Say FLA
December 14, 2023 at 3:13 pm
Are the GOP wannabees really “trailing,” though? A much more apt description of what they’re doing is waiting and hoping for fat old demented Trump to croak.
Marvin M.
December 14, 2023 at 7:09 pm
Good point. But even if he does, they still have to rally around someone, and I can’t for the life of me figure out who that is. It’s like every one of them is Mitt Romney.
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