(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might see his aspirations for the Republican presidential nomination evaporate, given a recent poll that places him in third among GOP primary voters in the pivotal state of South Carolina, an early voting state critical in shaping the nominee line-up.
September’s survey results indicate that DeSantis now has the backing of only 10% of South Carolina’s Republican primary voters. This places him behind former President Donald Trump, who has 46% support, and South Carolina’s former governor, Nikki Haley, who has garnered 18%.
A previous Fox poll had shown Haley leading DeSantis as early as July, but the gap was much closer at the time: 14% for Haley and 13% for DeSantis.
Breitbart News notes that Haley, who also served as the US ambassador to the UN, has extended her lead over DeSantis to 8 percentage points.
As per the September Fox poll, former President Trump’s support has slightly decreased by two percentage points since July in South Carolina. Nevertheless, he holds a significant 28-point advantage over his nearest rival for the 2024 GOP nomination.
Another South Carolina native in the presidential race, US Senator Tim Scott, has seen his backing drop by 1%, moving from 10% in July to 9% in September.
The findings of the survey reveal that 58% of GOP primary voters in South Carolina have confirmed their unwavering support for Trump, while DeSantis was the choice of 33%.
Interestingly, DeSantis didn’t manage to be the preferred choice even among the second options for the GOP primary voters in the state.
In a hypothetical situation where Trump isn’t contesting, the results showed 27% supporting Haley, 22% favoring DeSantis, and 14% backing Scott.
The September Fox News survey was conducted with feedback from 809 GOP primary voters in South Carolina and carried a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
Breitbart News observed that DeSantis has struggled to gain momentum in the initial voting states, even though he had highlighted this as his primary strategy in July. Comments from potential large-scale donors like billionaire Ken Griffin support this observation. “I don’t know his strategy. It’s not clear to me what voter base he is intending to appeal to,” Griffin commented.
In another blow to his campaign, a poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center revealed that DeSantis has dropped to fifth place among GOP voters in New Hampshire.
