NPR Poll: GOP Voters Raise Trump Favorability Over DeSantis

Republican voters see Donald Trump as a more favorable GOP candidate than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential race, and the former president has huge advantages in key demographic groups, according to a poll released Wednesday by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist.

Trump has a 76% favorable rating among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, compared with 67% for DeSantis. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., notched 50%.

White voters without a college degree, with 85%, say they have a favorable rating of Trump, compared with 60% for DeSantis, while women (81-61), white evangelical Christians (81-60), people with an income of less than $50,000 a year (83-59) and voters in small or rural towns (83-61) say nearly the same.

DeSantis has an advantage among men (73-71), voters in big city, small city and suburban areas (72-70), white people with college degrees (70-65) and overall college graduates (71-65).

The poll also found:

• By a 63%-to-35% margin, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they want a nominee who will stand on conservative principles, not just someone with the best chance of beating President Joe Biden.
• Biden has the highest favorability ratings of candidates in the Democratic primary with 83%.
• Other GOP candidates have not fared well since entering the race, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll of 1,327 U.S. adults was conducted June 12-14. The margin of error for the overall sample is 3.5 percentage points.

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