Ask voters the one word that comes to mind when they think of leading Republican candidates for the 2024 election and the results are unflattering.
Former President Donald Trump is a “criminal,” “dangerous,” and “disgusting.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is ‘fascist’, ‘racist’ but also a ‘leader’.
And newcomer Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, is simply “fat” or “irrelevant.”
That’s the result of a survey of 1,000 likely general election voters conducted by JL Partners for DailyMail.com.
Word clouds generated for the leading candidates are far from flattering. 1000 likely voters were asked to describe 2024 runners in one word. Source: JL Partners
Add in their likely Democratic opponent and the descriptions aren’t much better.
The word cloud for President Joe Biden runs from “old” and “incompetent” to “senile” and “corrupt.”
And the results suggest Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, has a lot of work to do if he heeds the call of those in his party who want a younger challenger to Biden. ‘Unknown’ and ‘uncertain’ were the words associated with him.
Each fares better among voters for their own party. But crucially independent voters reach for overwhelmingly negative words.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said the one-word survey was not just an exercise in poking fun, but offered a taste of how leaders are viewed across the country
“The most important group for the next election – independent voters – are dissatisfied with the choices currently available,” he said.
To them, Trump is “disgusting,” a “criminal,” and an “asshole,” while Biden is “old,” “senile,” and “incompetent.”
DeSantis gets some credit for his leadership in Florida, while Christie and Newsom are too unknown to register. What is clear is that – for both Independents and the American people – the idea of a 2020 rematch next year generates little enthusiasm.”
The battle for the Republican nomination is currently a race between Trump and DeSantis. But supporters of the Florida governor say he has a better chance in the 2024 general election
The word clouds suggest that voters aren’t thrilled with the idea of a rematch in 2020. Even Democrats can only come up with “steady” and “proficient” for Biden, though “old” still dominates the cloud. Republicans are getting more excited about “great,” “patriot” Trump
This cloud suggests that DeSantis has some way to go if he is to win over independent voters
Yet that is the direction both parties are heading. Biden is a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination unless he drops out or drops dead, while Trump is the clear frontrunner on the Republican side.
Commentators are already talking about election fatigue among voters who feel they know both candidates well and don’t care much about them either. For example, neither can claim positive preference ratings in office.
And at 80 and 77, they don’t exactly represent hope or excitement for the future.
It means that when Democrats are asked for words to describe their octogenarian president, they pick words like “steadfast,” “able,” and “honest.”
Republicans choose ‘patriot’, ‘leader’ and ‘great’ for Trump.
DeSantis gets similar words — “leader,” “smart” and “strong” — suggesting that his main rival’s attempts to define him early haven’t yet resonated with Republicans flirting with electing Florida governor.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is often touted as a Democratic alternative to 80-year-old Biden. But his word cloud suggests he has work to do to build his national profile
That leaves moderate Republicans still alarmed at how their party has been taken over by Trump and his former acolytes, who squabble over the same populist territory.
Meghan Milloy, founder of Republican Women for Progress, said: “The Republican Party likes to think we’ve grown so much since 2016, but the truth is we’ve gotten worse.
“We now think Trump is the norm and anyone a little less horrific is Mother Teresa.
“Until we can completely reset our decency barometers to account for the rule of law, commitment to democracy and actual winability, we will continue to deal with a slew of ding-dongs that will do nothing but bolster a Biden White House.”
A new poll for DailyMail.com shows that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently best placed to run against President Joe Biden in the 2024 election
The poll results suggest that if the general election were held tomorrow, Biden would narrowly hold on to the White House.
He would beat DeSantis by one point (44 percent of the vote to 43), Trump by two points, and newcomer Pence by three points.
But with 17 months to go there is everything to play for as Biden lags behind the independents and the numbers point to an excruciatingly tight race.
Biden is also considered too old to be president by some 71 percent of voters and nearly half of Democratic voters.
The poll was conducted from June 12 to 15 and used landlines, cell phones, text and apps to reach 1,000 likely U.S. general election voters. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.