Support for former President Donald Trump is continuing to grow as he bids for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, with new Emerson College Polling results showing him with a big lead over his nearest hypothetical contender, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
According to the poll numbers released Thursday, Trump netted 62% of the support, followed by DeSantis at 16%.
“Trump’s 62% reflects an increase in support for the first time in an Emerson national poll since June 2022, where he has held a consistent 55%,” the pollsters said. “Since the February national poll, DeSantis has lost nine points of support, from 25% to 16%.”
Other declared and potential candidates in the 2024 Republican race only netted single-digit results.
The national survey of U.S. voters was conducted on April 24-25 of a sample of 1,100 registered voters, and had a sample of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
The poll also measured job approval ratings for President Joe Biden, who officially announced his reelection campaign Tuesday.
The survey shows Biden with a 41% job approval rating, marking a three-point drop since Emerson’s February national poll.
Meanwhile, 65% of the poll’s Democrat voters said they think Biden should be the Democratic Party’s nominee, with 35% saying the nominee should be someone else, marking a drop of six points from February, when 71% said Biden should be nominated.
“Driving Biden’s lower approval this month is independent voters, 37% of whom approved of the president in February, which has dropped to 30% this month,” said Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling.
Biden’s support increased to 70% when compared with announced candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who got 21%, and Marianne Williamson, who got 8%.
The poll also measured a hypothetical matchup between Trump and Biden, with Biden coming out slightly ahead by 43% to 41%; 10% said they would vote for someone else and 6% said they are undecided.
Biden would come out ahead of DeSantis, with 43% to 37% for DeSantis; 10% said they would vote for someone else and 8% said they are undecided.
“Independent voters are nearly split on the presidential ticket between Trump and Biden, 34% would vote for Biden and 33% for Trump,” Kimball said. “A third of independents support someone else or are undecided.”
The poll also showed that regardless of who they supported for president, 40% of the voters said they believe Biden will win his reelection bid, and 35% said they expect Trump will be the next president. A quarter of the voters polled said they expect someone else will be elected.