GOP Primary Race Polls Show Divided Opinion Among Republican Voters

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a recent Fox News interview that he does not believe Donald Trump can beat President Joe Biden in a general election. However, recent national polls in the GOP primary race tell a different story.

According to the latest poll conducted from July 23 to July 27 by The New York Times and Siena College, Trump leads with 54% of the likely Republican primary electorate, compared to DeSantis’ 17%. No other GOP candidate scored above 3% in the poll, which has a margin of error of 3.96 percentage points.

The poll also revealed that Republican primary voters consider Trump to be more electable against Biden than DeSantis, with 58% choosing Trump and 28% choosing the governor when asked which candidate is “able to beat Joe Biden”.

DeSantis Challenges Trump’s Electability and Leadership

Despite the poll results, DeSantis maintained in the interview that he, not Trump, is the better candidate to take on the Democratic incumbent. When asked if he believes Trump could win a general election against Biden, DeSantis replied, “I don’t think so, because I think that there’s too many voters who just aren’t going to vote for him going forward.”

DeSantis also argued that Trump would face difficulty in assembling a capable team to support his administration, saying, “If you want to slay this administrative state, you gotta be disciplined, you gotta be focused, and you gotta have people surrounding you that are going to go and support the mission.”

Concerns Surrounding DeSantis’ Campaign and Fundraising

DeSantis’ latest remarks come amidst reported struggles within his campaign. According to NBC News, his two-month-old campaign has fired more than 40% of its original staff as it tries to close the gap with Trump. The campaign has also faced concerns about its fundraising operation, with some top donors exploring alternatives to Trump in the primary.