DeSantis poll nightmare: Florida governor drops to THIRD in South Carolina, trailing Trump in Iowa by 30 points – as his campaign continues to falter
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped to third in the South Carolina polls, behind both Donald Trump and ex-Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina
- DeSantis remains a distant second in the first caucus state of Iowa
- Comes amid reports that DeSantis is shaking up his campaign
Ron DeSantis now ranks third in South Carolina, as Florida’s governor continues to slip after reports of a shakeup in his campaign.
A new Fox News poll of early primary states shows that DeSantis is now behind both former President Donald Trump and his former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in South Carolina.
Haley was able to gain ground in Palmetto state because she was also the first female governor there, serving from 2011-2017. She was also the youngest governor in the country at the time and the second ever governor of Indian descent.
While DeSantis still ranks second in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, the gap with Trump continues to grow.
A Fox Business poll of Iowa Republicans shows that 46 percent of likely caucus attendees support Trump — giving him a 30-point lead over DeSantis’ 16 percent. In third place is South Carolina Senator Tim Scott with 11 percent.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left) fell to third in the South Carolina polls — trailing both front-runner Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (right)
In the early contest states, Trump maintains an impressive first place — but his former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has now bounced back to second in her home state of South Carolina
No other of the 15 candidates in the GOP primary has managed to garner double-digit support in Hawkeye state to date.
Six percent say they would advocate for biotech millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, 5 percent for Haley and 4 percent for former Vice President Mike Pence.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum both got 3 percent in Iowa, and the rest of the crowded field got 1 percent or less.
Trump’s lead is even bigger in South Carolina, according to the survey conducted July 15–19 of 808 likely primary voters in the state.
Leading the rest of the field by 34 points, Trump received a whopping 48 percent support from voters in the southern state.
Haley was second by a distant 14 percent, leaving DeSantis in third place by 1 percentage point.
Tim Scott, who is also beloved by his voting bloc in his home state, came in fourth with 10 percent.
No one else broke the double digits.
There are nearly seven months until the South Carolina primary, one of the first contest states to set the momentum of the election cycle.
Former President Donald Trump still leads by far in the 2024 presidential primaries in both national and statewide polls
Trump still dominates the primary election polls and has even been able to extend his lead among DeSantis and the rest of those running for the nomination in 2024.
Earlier this year, DeSantis was more than 20 points behind Trump, but now Florida’s governor has seen that gap widen to about 30 percent on average.
However, DeSantis says he does not concern himself with polls and does not make moves based on what polls indicate.
Meanwhile, multiple reports indicate that a shakeup is coming in DeSantis’ presidential campaign.
An article in the New York Times on Sunday, claims consultants vow a refocus toward an “insurgent” run, wanting to rebrand DeSantis as an “earner-meaner” operation.