Despite candidates’ rivalry, a plurality of Trump voters have DeSantis as second choice

Though the two frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have a vicious rivalry, a new poll shows that their voters don't share the animosity. A plurality of Trump voters count DeSantis as their second choice, and vice versa.

A little over one-third—34%—of potential Trump voters would vote for DeSantis if Trump were to drop out of the race, according to a new Morning Consult poll. And when it comes to potential DeSantis voters, 37% would jump to the Trump campaign should he drop out.

When it comes to the other candidates, however, it's more of a toss up. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is next on both lists, but he's more popular among Trump fans, with 27% naming him as their second choice. Among DeSantis voters, on the other hand, Ramaswamy is only one point ahead of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley at 17%. Haley doesn't even appear on Trump voters' list.

Following Haley's 16% among DeSantis voters is former Vice President Mike Pence at 14%. On the other side, Pence is the third-most popular candidate among Trump voters, with 9% saying they'd vote for him if Trump didn't run. Tim Scott is Trump voters' fourth choice with 6%, though he doesn't appear on DeSantis voters' list. DeSantis voters are more confident in their choices with only 4% saying they didn't know or have an opinion for a second choice, compared to 14% on the Trump side.

The poll was conducted from September 8-10, with a sample size of 3,715 potential Republican primary voters. The margin of error is between 2-5%.

DeSantis and Trump used to be a two-man mutual admiration society. Trump backed DeSantis' gubernatorial campaign in 2018 before he even announced his candidacy, and DeSantis supported Trump during the Mueller probe, as the Associated Press reported.

That friendship has deteriorated as the machine gears up for the 2024 election. Now, it's common to see Trump bemoaning "Ron DeSanctimonious" or "Meatball Ron" at his rallies and on his Truth Social platform. He's also told reporters that DeSantis has "got no personality," and released a campaign video calling him a "Trump imposter."

While DeSantis hasn't tweeted much about Trump on X, he's made his feelings known in interviews. Beyond refusing to back Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud, he's slammed him for "daily drama," and joking to reporters that if Trump "drained the swamp like he promised... [he] wouldn't be in the mess that he's in right now." And in February, DeSantis banned Trump supporters from his book signing.