A Roanoke College poll of Virginia Republicans released on Thursday that simulated a hypothetical GOP primary for 2024 showed that former President Trump is currently leading by double digits against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The poll shows that 39% of Virginia Republican voters would support Trump in the 2024 GOP primary. DeSantis would take second place with 28%. The match considered 8 potential candidates, but none of the other candidates managed to hit double digits, making Trump and DeSantis the two clear leaders in the challenge so far.
In third place, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), received 6% of support from Republican Virginians.
While Trump first launched his presidential campaign in November 2022, shortly after the 2022 midterm elections, both DeSantis and Youngkin have not yet announced their intentions for 2024. However, it is widely speculated that one or both of them will enter the race.
Former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign last month received 5% of support according to this poll. All other GOP candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump Jr., earned 3% or less. This would fall within the poll’s margin of error which was 4.23 percentage points.
The poll was completed by the Roanoke College’s Institute for Policy and Opinion Research and surveyed 680 Virginia adults between February 12th and 21st.
