In 2024, Ron DeSantis was out of the presidential race long before a face-off in his home state’s Presidential Primary against Donald Trump, seemingly recognizing that no “favorite-son” bump awaited him.
Two years later, though, polling from the University of North Florida shows the Governor is more popular than Trump is in the state, with every conceivable demographic.
Overall, DeSantis has 52% approval against 42% disapproval, while Trump is underwater, with 45% favorably disposed to him and 48% against him.
DeSantis is more popular among Republicans, with 87% approval, compared with just 83% for Trump.
But Democrats and independent voters also hold DeSantis in greater esteem. DeSantis has 41% support among unaligned voters, 10 points greater than Trump’s backing among the same group. And DeSantis has double the support among Democrats as does Trump, 12% to 6%.
DeSantis has a 5-point edge among men, with 60% support compared to 55% for Trump. And while both men are underwater with women, DeSantis’ 44% support is 7 points higher than Trump’s in the same group.
DeSantis’ edge extends to all age groups, to Whites, and to Hispanics. He’s also 3 points ahead of Trump among both those who backed Trump and those who backed Kamala Harris in 2024.
Trump does lead DeSantis with Black voters, albeit marginally, with 11% support among the group compared to 10% for DeSantis.
The poll was conducted between Feb. 21 and March 2 with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points
