A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis would be a nonstarter with young Republicans in a hypothetical 2028 race involving Donald Trump chasing a Constitution-defying third term.
And DeSantis wouldn’t do much better if Trump doesn’t run again either, trailing a man who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024 before leaving the race to back Trump and serve in Trump’s Cabinet.
That’s the takeaway from a new Yale Youth Poll that samples all voters, but oversamples those under the age of 30.
If Trump runs again, DeSantis has 4% support among the younger voters, with the President at 49%, Vice President JD Vance at 21% and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. at 8%.
But even if Trump sits out, DeSantis doesn’t get his younger voters.
Vance has 50% support in that scenario, Kennedy 13% and DeSantis just 6%.
DeSantis is more competitive with Kennedy among all Republican voters.
If Trump ran again, he’d get 56% support among all voters, with Vance at 18% and Kennedy and DeSantis tied at 4%.
If Trump stands down, Vance secures 53% support with all voters, with Kennedy at 9% and DeSantis at 8%.
DeSantis said last year that he hasn’t “ruled anything out” and will “see what the future holds.” But this is the latest in a series of polls where DeSantis struggles.
April’s Echelon Insights survey has him at 9% in a Trump-free field.
In his best performance recently, an April Overton Insights poll shows him at 13% among Republican and Republican-leaning voters and 14% among strictly GOP-registered voters.
A YouGov survey in the field from March 30 through April 1 shows that while 8% of Republicans and GOP-leaning respondents back the former 2024 candidate making a second run, 10% of respondents would be disappointed if he were nominated.
A January survey from McLaughlin & Associates had DeSantis at 8%, behind Vance and Donald Trump Jr.
At a straw poll conducted at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, DeSantis mustered 7% support, finishing far behind Vance’s 61% and also behind Steve Bannon, whose 12% support surprised many observers.
According to one survey, DeSantis couldn’t win his home state.
A survey released exclusively to Florida Politics by Fabrizio Lee & Associates shows Vance would defeat the Governor 47% to 33%.
2 comments
Peachy
April 15, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Is Nikki Fried putting you up to this Gancarski? She still isn’t going out with you.🤣
Michael K
April 15, 2025 at 9:06 pm
Not surprised. Ron’s actions and “policies” are all geared to appeal to older, straight, white “Christian” males. He went out of his way to alienate young people with his anti-gay, anti-Black bigotry, his attacks on education, “wokeness” (whatever that is), and cheap political stunts that turn most young people under 30 off. These are the folks who vividly and painfully remember Parkland.
Those white go-go boots, however, and the cowboy boots did give him a “lift” with older voters.