Former President Donald Trump defeats President Joe Biden by nearly 7 points and holds a 43-point lead in the Republican presidential primary field, according to Big Data Poll.
Trump received 59.9% in the GOP field among 1,431 national voters surveyed by Big Data Poll, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (16.6%) in second place.
Former Vice President Mike Pence (5.3%), businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (4.6%), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (3.7%) and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. (1.2%) followed.
Asked "If the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election were held today, for whom would you vote?" respondents favored Trump (45%) over Biden (38.1%). A third-party candidate received 9.4%, and 7.5% said they were undecided.
Men preferred Trump over Biden 48.4%-38%, and even woman opted for the former president 42%-38.2%.
When asked about a hypothetical matchup between Biden and DeSantis, the president received 38.6% support and the governor earned 35.1%. However, a third-party candidate (12.7%) and undecided (13.6%) voters accounted for a sizeable segment.
DeSantis actually beats Biden 41.1%-37.5% among men but trails by nearly 10 percentage points among women (39.6-29.7).
Newsmax reported Thursday that DeSantis is expected to officially enter the 2024 presidential race next week after a trip to New Hampshire this weekend.
Also Thursday, DeSantis suggested to donors in a phone call that he is the only candidate that can beat Biden.
Trump has been attacking DeSantis for a while as polls show the governor as the person likely to put up the strongest challenge for the GOP presidential nomination.
A pro-Trump group has launched an advertisement attacking DeSantis' previous support for a national sales tax featuring a ditty to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and emphasizing that Trump cut taxes while he was in the White House.