A new poll released Tuesday showed that a majority of Florida’s voters prefer former President Donald Trump or Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over President Joe Biden.
In a potential matchup against Biden, DeSantis leads 52%-44% while Trump’s potential victory sweep over the current president is a much narrower margin of 47%-44%, according to the Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network poll. When stacked up against each other, Trump beat DeSantis 47%-40%, according to the poll.
Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network poll of likely midterm voters in Florida:
Hypothetical Ballot Test President 2024:
DeSantis 52
Biden 44Trump 47
Biden 44GOP Primary Subset:
Trump 47
DeSantis 40Dem Primary Subset:
Clinton 46
Biden 43— David Paleologos (@davidpaleologos) February 1, 2022
Biden fared rather unfavorably in the poll, with only 39% of those polled approving of his handling of the presidency. Amongst those polled, 57% said they disapproved of Biden’s handling of the economy and 58% of those polled said the country is headed down the wrong path.
The poll also created a hypothetical matchup should former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launch a bid in 2024, with voters showing Biden would beat out Clinton 46%-43%, raising concern for some Democrats. (RELATED: POLL: Biden’s Approval Rating Crashes To 24% With Independents)
“That’s something that’s got to give President Biden pause and other potential Democratic challengers pause,” director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center David Paleologos said, according to the report.
Seventy-one-year-old Thomas Murphy, a Republican respondent, told USA TODAY that Biden is “a disaster” and “has no leadership skills.”
Biden’s approval rating has been steadily declining, with a recent Quinnipiac University poll finding his approval rating is 33%. That rating is down 3% when compared to a November 2021 poll.
Voters have been critical of Biden’s handling of the economy, the pandemic, the border crisis and foreign policy.