According to a study by the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies, former President Trump now has a double-digit advantage over California Republicans in the 2024 Republican primary.
In the most recent poll, Trump has a double-digit advantage over his closest prospective rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, by 18 points in California. Just over a quarter, 26%, back DeSantis, while Trump receives 44% of the vote.
Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, and Tim Scott, a senator from that state, are among the other announced candidates taken into account in the poll, but none of them, not even those two, earn more than 4% of the vote. Only Trump and DeSantis do.
Since February, Trump’s support has significantly increased according to this poll. Republicans in California were eight points in favor of DeSantis three months before, with 37% voting for the Florida governor and 29% for Trump.
In other words, over the last three months, DeSantis’ support has decreased by 11 points, while Trump’s support has increased by 15 points over the same period. That comes out to a 26-point swing in the former president’s favor.
The survey’s director, Mark DiCamillo, noted that Trump’s increase in support among California Republicans coincided with a protracted period of negative coverage of the former president, which included an indictment and a sexual assault trial that involved E. Jean Carroll.
He said: “What struck me was that during this three-month time frame, Trump was receiving all this bad press from the sexual abuse case, and his image actually improved.”
“The Republican base mostly accepts his explanations for why things are the way they are, despite the fact that the news isn’t always good,” according to DiCamillo.
Additionally, during the previous three months, Trump’s favorability among California Republicans has increased by five points, rising from 69% to 74%. DeSantis, who has a slightly higher favorability rating of 75%, had a four-point decline over the last three months, which adds evidence that the former president is now in the lead.
The poll has a +/- 3.5 percent margin of error and was conducted among 1,472 registered California Republicans from May 17–22, 2023.
By now everyone should realize that all the bad press and negativity thrown at Trump is just liberal spaghetti thrown at him, in hopes that something will stick. Since they have a long track record of lying and deceit, the more they throw the more they’re showing how much their corrupt souls fear Trump. They’ve given ample reason to oppose everything they believe in…ample reason to react exactly OPPOSITE to what they’re trying to accomplish with their lies. Add to that the injustice Trump has experienced with the endless witch hunts, false accusations and stolen election and patriotic Americans will choose Trump over a staunch and proven conservative like DeSantis just because he’s unfairly endured such a huge mountain of indignities served up by the hateful and incompetent liberals.
Dear Jeff, excellent analysis. Trump thrives on adversity. He is a fighter like no other in our history. I want him to fight for our Nation. He already is planning for our 250th Birthday! No other politician has the foggiest idea of the importance of this event in our history.