Trump and DeSantis Neck and Neck in Biden Matchup: Poll
- According to a new poll released on Tuesday, President Joe Biden has a one point lead over both former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in hypothetical head-to-head matchups.
- Trump is performing better with likely Republican primary voters and is leading DeSantis with 52 percent to the governor's 28 percent.
- Trump has publicly criticized DeSantis, questioning whether he would have been successful without Trump's endorsement in the 2018 election.
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are neck and neck in a hypothetical matchup with President Joe Biden, according to new polling published on Tuesday.
Morning Consult found that Biden leads both Republicans in head-to-head contests with 43 percent support to his potential opponents' 42 percent but that Trump is performing better with likely Republican primary voters.
The figures come as the rivalry between Trump and DeSantis appears to be heating up after the former president told journalists on Monday that he "maybe" regretted endorsing DeSantis in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election.
Trump officially launched his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination following the 2022 midterm elections but DeSantis has not formally entered the race, though he is seen as Trump's strongest potential rival.
Biden enjoys a one-point lead over both Trump and DeSantis, according to Morning Consult's findings.
In a head-to-head contest with Trump, Biden won 43 percent support to the former president's 42 percent, while 11 percent said they'd vote for someone else and 5 percent answered "don't know."
Poll respondents also favored Biden over DeSantis 43 percent to the governor's 42 percent, while a further 8 percent saying they'd vote for someone else and 7 percent replying "don't know."
Since the margin of error in the poll on this question was one percentage point, the 2024 presidential race is shaping up as being extremely tight.
The Morning Consult poll was conducted from March 10 to 12 among 5,000 registered voters.
Trump continues to enjoy a significant lead over DeSantis when it comes to the Republican presidential nomination as Morning Consult found him leading with 52 percent to DeSantis' 28 percent.
They are the only two Republicans in the poll whose support rose to double figures and other potential GOP presidential nominees were far behind both Trump and DeSantis.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who has entered the presidential race, had 4 percent support, while former Vice President Mike Pence recorded 7 percent support.
Pence is widely expected to announce his intention to seek the Republican nomination for 2024 but he has not yet formally declared a presidential campaign, while entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also seeking the Republican nomination, recorded 0 percent support.
Morning Consult polled 3,556 potential Republican primary voters from March 10 to 12.
On Monday, Trump criticized DeSantis in remarks to reporters while on his plane en route to Iowa, a key early voting state in the 2024 Republican primary process.
"He was dead as a dog, he was a dead politician. He would have been working perhaps for a law firm or doing something else," Trump said, referring to his endorsement of DeSantis in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election.
When the former president was asked whether he regretted endorsing DeSantis, Trump said: "Yeah maybe, this guy was dead. He was dead as a doornail. ... I might say that."
Newsweek has reached out to Trump and DeSantis' teams for comment.
