Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) may be done for in the race for the GOP nomination as new polling released on Thursday placed the once neck-and-neck candidate down to third place behind rising star Vivek Ramaswamy (R).
Early polling places DeSantis in a close second place behind 45th President Donald Trump but the once close margin has slowly been growing into an unconquerable mountain. Polling done by Cygnal shows that back in December of 2022, the Sunshine State governor sat a small five percent behind the New York real estate mogul, but that margin has now grown all the way to 42 percent while being one percent behind the formerly unknown Ramaswamy.
2024 Republican primary polling trends among likely voters by @cygnal (A)
December '22
Trump 40% (+5)
DeSantis 35%March
Trump 42% (+13)
DeSantis 29%April
Trump 46% (+20)
DeSantis 26%May
Trump 52% (+31)
DeSantis 21%AUGUST
Trump 53% (+42)
Ramaswamy 11%
DeSantis 10% pic.twitter.com/n3cixD246t— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 10, 2023
Over time the margin slowly grew, from five percent in December to 13 in March, up to 20 percent in April. Things began looking dire for DeSantis in May when he sat a notable 31 percent behind Trump and now the book is closing on his chapter as the 42 percent gap would need a miracle to close.
The poll is also the first time that the Florida governor has not been in second place, consistently sitting right behind Trump for every single poll taken across all polling sites up to this point.
Though things may be dire for DeSantis supporters, the new poll is also a victory for Ramaswamy. To be able to rise from someone with less than a single percent of support and barely any name recognition all the way to second place behind the big name in Republican politics is certainly a notable journey. If you were to ask the average American about Vivek Ramaswamy in 2022, most would have no clue.
Of course, the polling also serves as a victory lap for Trump as he continues to rise farther above all others in the race. The businessman looks all but untouchable with his massive 42 percent gap above all others in the race.
The downfall of DeSantis has been a slow and steady one but a seemingly inevitable one. The cult of personality that Trump creates is one that is immensely hard to take on and once you’re in Donald Trump’s line of fire there’s a zero percent chance you’re getting out unscathed. Luckily for DeSantis, he’s still a relatively young politician with a notable following. His chances may be all but gone for 2024 but there are many other elections in the future.
