DeSantis Wins Wisconsin GOP Poll Of Possible 2024 Presidential Candidates

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OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion

In late March, House Republicans conducted a poll to determine the views of battleground voters and found that 75 percent believed Democrats were ‘out of touch’ and ‘condescending.’

A further 67 percent said Democrats were out of control in their spending in Congress.

In the poll, conducted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, voters in 77 swing districts that president Joe Biden won by an average of 5.5 points were surveyed.

The poll at the time showed GOP candidates in those districts led by 4 points and improved by 7 points since February 2021, according to the NRCC.

Meanwhile, Biden’s numbers continue to slide.

‘The NRCC’s latest battleground survey confirms that Joe Biden and Democrats face an increasingly challenging political environment,’ the NRCC said in a memo. ‘Battleground voters continue to hold Democrats responsible for the negative impact that record-high inflation, soaring crime, and the crisis along our southern border are having on their lives.’

A new poll taken May 18-20 shows how embattled Biden really is.

The New York Post reports:

Nearly 8 in 10 voters — 77% — say things in America are going “somewhat” or “very” badly, 69% think the economy is “fairly” or “very” bad, and 56% disapprove of how Biden is handling his presidential duties, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll.

Only 44% approve of the job Biden is doing.

Asked about their expected outlook over the coming months, 68% say they are pessimistic about the economy, 77% say the same about the rising cost of goods and services, 67% are worried about the stock market and 57% express concern about their plans for retirement.

And yet another poll taken over the weekend gives us a glimpse from one state in which Republican voters are leaning towards a Biden challenger in 2024.

In a straw poll of attendees at a Wisconsin GOP convention, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis emerged ahead of former President Donald Trump as the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.

WisPolitics.com conducted the poll over the weekend. Desantis and Trump performed far better than the rest of the field.

Trump received 32% of the vote; DeSantis received 38%; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley received roughly 7%; and the trio of former Vice President Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul each received roughly 2.5%.

43% of respondents said they wanted Trump to run for president in 2024, 31% said no, and 22% said they were unsure.

According to polls, DeSantis will easily beat his Democratic opponents in the gubernatorial race in 2022; according to the Saint Leo University Polling Institute, he leads former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist by 16 points at 49%-33%, Crist’s former running mate, state senator Annette Taddeo, by 19 points at 49%-30%, and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried by a stunning 24 points at 51%-27%.

Reviewing Florida’s incredibly close gubernatorial elections in the past, it becomes clear just how impressive DeSantis was in Florida:

Democrat Alex Sink lost to GOP candidate Rick Scott 49%-48% in 2010.

The incumbent Scott ran for reelection against former governor Charlie Crist in 2014, who had served as a GOP governor since 2006, eventually became an independent, and then ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Scott narrowly defeated Crist 48% to 47% in 2014.

The margin of victory for DeSantis in 2018 was just 40,000 votes over Democrat Andrew Gillum. In total, 8.2 million voters cast ballots, making it a difference of just .4%.

Wisconsin’s Republican legislators have fought against the state’s Democrats for years to uphold conservative principles.

A bill establishing Wisconsin as a “Second Amendment sanctuary” was passed by the state legislature in June 2021, but was vetoed by Democratic Governor Tony Evers.

“If signed into law and deemed constitutional, the legislation would prevent Wisconsin law enforcement officials from confiscating guns from those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses, according to nonpartisan lawyers for the Legislature. That’s because there is no state law that corresponds with a federal law allowing guns to be taken from such offenders,” reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Moreover, the state’s Republican legislators passed a resolution authorizing a probe into the 2020 presidential election in March 2021.

Assembly elections and campaign committee vice-chairman Joe Sanfelippo explained that the Republicans were permitted to order testimony and gather documents with subpoenas under the resolution.

Trump’s presidential victory in Wisconsin in 2016 marked the first time since 1984 that a Republican candidate had won the state’s electoral votes. The turnout percentage in the state, 66%, was the lowest since 1966; he received nearly 22,000 more votes than Hillary Clinton out of approximately 3 million cast.

Regardless of who is the Republican nominee, Biden will have an extraordinary time defending his time in office.

The NY Post article continued:

Faced with inflation rates hovering at 40-year highs and the price of gas inching up to $5 a gallon, respondents were asked what word describes Biden.

Fifty-seven percent say “distracted,” 51% say “incompetent,” 47% go with “divisive,” while 45% say he’s “competent” and 40% say he’s “focused.”

Asked to describe their feelings about the state of the country, 63% say “uneasy” or “worrying,” 61% opt for “frustrating,” while 11% say “calm,” “secure” 8% and “inspiring” 7%.

Asked to describe Democrats in a word, 51% of voters chose “weak,” 49% went with “extreme,” 39% say “in touch,” 38% opt for “strong,” and 36% say “effective.”

Source: The Republic Brief