Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ahead of former President Donald Trump by nearly 20 points, according to a new poll of South Carolina Republicans about next year's primary.
Conducted by Spry Strategies, the survey from the South Carolina Policy Council reveals that DeSantis has the support of 52% of the Palmetto State's Republicans, versus Trump's 33%, in a head-to-head matchup.
Because the poll classified responses based on how favorably respondents rated Trump, there were some interesting findings.
Those who reported having an unfavorable opinion of Trump or no opinion threw more than 70% of their support behind DeSantis, but even those who said they had a "somewhat favorable" opinion of the former president picked DeSantis over Trump 63% to 18%.
Of Republican primary voters who said they had a "very favorable" opinion of Trump, 30% chose DeSantis, with the former president garnering the support of just 61% of respondents who reported liking him the most.
A full 79% of respondents who wanted Trump or "someone else" picked DeSantis as the alternative, according to the poll.
The results come as Trump prepares to increase his presence in South Carolina, with a campaign rally in state capital Columbia on Saturday. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Palmetto State Gov. Henry McMaster are expected to lend their support to the event. The Trump campaign is planning to host "500 attendees" at the South Carolina State House, according to The Associated Press.
Trump responded to rumors of a potential DeSantis primary matchup during an appearance on "The Water Pooler" podcast last week.
"Now I hear he [DeSantis] might want to run against me," the former president said. "So, we'll handle that the way I handle things."
DeSantis, who Trump in November dubbed "Ron DeSanctimonious," has not announced plans to run for the White House in 2024.
Trump signaled during the podcast that it would be a sign of disloyalty if DeSantis decided to run and repeated his belief that his endorsement clinched the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election for the popular governor.
"I got him elected, pure and simple," Trump said.
Billionaire hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin told Politico in November that "it's time" for Republicans "to move on" from Trump, saying the U.S. would be "well-served" with DeSantis as president.
The poll was conducted Jan. 17-19 and surveyed 640 likely South Carolina voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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