Desantis Deflates – Primera Hora

Miami Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has failed to tackle his campaign for the Republican primaries, according to a poll released this Saturday that not only leads him by 40 points over former President Donald Trump, but also by two points over businessman Vivek Ramasamy.

The Harvard Harris Poll shows Trump completely dominating the landscape ahead of the primaries, with 52% voting intention, although he lost seven points from the previous poll, giving him a five-point advantage over incumbent President Joe Biden with 45% support compared to 40%.

It also makes clear that DeSantis, with 12% support, has a chance of winning the nomination today only if his former godfather Trump drops out of the race.

If so, Florida’s governor would come out on top with 29% intent to vote, according to an online survey of 2,068 registered voters nationwide, followed by 37-year-old Indian-origin Ramasamy with 19%.

A troubling fact for his campaign is that DeSantis has lost 12 points compared to the previous Harvard Harris poll.

Those are the same points that Ramasamy, a rising star in the race leading up to the presidential election on November 5, 2024, would have won in the scenario of a Republican primary without Trump.

In the current scenario, with Trump as the nominee, Ramasamy’s voter intention has risen by eight points.

Behind him are former Vice President Mike Pence (7%), former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (4%), African American Senator Tim Scott (2%) and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (2%).

The rest of the primary candidates are reaching one percent or less of their voting intentions.

DeSantis started his campaign so strong that he didn’t make it official until last May, aiming to get out the vote and raise funds, but he couldn’t keep up and lost support.

News broke last week that he would have to cut back on his campaign staff, but on Wednesday he remained optimistic about his chances of defeating Trump in an interview with CNN.

Ironically, when respondents to a Harvard Harris poll were asked who they would vote for now if President Joe Biden and DeSantis were the nominees, 41% said the second and 40% said the first, with 19% not responding.

If Biden and Trump remain the two major party nominees, the survey revealed that 57% of those surveyed would be willing to vote for an independent candidate and 43% would not consider it.

Seven in 10 voters say the country should have a choice other than Biden and Trump.