Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is growing more popular among Republicans, as speculation increases of a potential 2024 presidential run.
According to The Hill, some Republicans have already signaled their support for DeSantis, 42, becoming the 2024 presidential nominee. His popularity is growing among the Republican Party’s grassroots.
The results of CPAC’s straw poll released Sunday found 21% of respondents said they would vote for DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primary, as IJR reported.
DeSantis came in second behind former President Donald Trump. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they would back the former president in the primary.
A poll of grassroots conservative advocates who attended CPAC found DeSantis to be favored to win the presidential nomination if the former president decided not to run again.
He received 43% of the vote while South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) came in second with 11%.
Donald Trump Jr. garnered 8% of support and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) both stood at 7%.
Ninety-five percent of CPAC attendees said they would like to see the party advance policies pushed by Trump, while 69% of respondents said they would like to see him run again.
During DeSantis’ speech at CPAC, he touted his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as IJR reported.
He pointed to statistics showing Florida has “lower per capita COVID mortality than the national average and lower than 27 other states.”
“Florida got it right and the lockdown states got it wrong,” the governor said.
Last month, DeSantis took aim at President Joe Biden for the possible domestic travel ban.
He called Biden a “lockdowner.”
“So there’s no basis in medical, there’s no basis in economics, there’s no basis in reality to do this except to punish a state that is doing it better than what his experts have recommended,” DeSantis said.
He added, “Biden is a lockdowner. His experts are lockdowners. Lockdowns don’t work. We’ve demonstrated that. We’re not turning back.”
A new Mason-Dixon poll released Tuesday showed 53% of voters in Florida approve of DeSantis’ job. This is an increase from his 45% job approval rating last July.
Florida GOP Vice Chair Christian Ziegler weighed in on a possible DeSantis run.
“When it comes to 2024, it’s clear that President Trump is in the driver’s seat. President Trump’s record of fighting for conservatives is unmatched. If Trump was to pass on a run in 2024, it’s very clear that the Republican Party has a deep bench of leaders and candidates, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis leading the pack,” Ziegler said.
