Trouble for Trump as DeSantis siphons away his support among grassroots GOP leaders

Grassroots leaders across the nation appear to be turning away from Donald Trump and toward Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis as a presidential candidate, according to results of a Politico survey of Republican country chairs.

Among those who responded to the survey, half said they weren't yet committed to a candidate. Of those who had chosen a favorite, 19% said they were committed to DeSantis, and 17% picked Trump, according to the results published Friday.

As for which candidates the chairs were considering supporting, a startling 73% named DeSantis, while 43% named Trump. Those picks were followed by Nikki Haley (36%), Tim Scott (28%), Mike Pence (21%) and Ted Cruz (17%). The last pick was Donald Trump Jr., who tied at 4% with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the survey found. (The results don't add up to 100% because respondents were encouraged to choose all candidates they would consider supporting.)

The survey was conducted by Seth Masket, the head of the Center for American Politics at the University of Denver. He was surprised by Trump's second-place standing, given Trump's "once legendary grip" on the Republican Party — and the fact that he and former U.S ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are the only leading candidates to declare they're running.

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It's way too early to predict what this all means, but DeSantis is "easily" currently grabbing support from the "broadest swath" of grassroots Republican leaders, Masket noted.

As for Republicans the county chairs do no want as the GOP presidential nominee, Chris Christie led the pack (with 55% opposed to him), followed by Donald Trump Jr. (51%). Only 9% responded that they don't want DeSantis as the nominee, compared with 39% opposed to Trump, the survey found. Masket said of those findings: "The degree of disinterest in Trump is rather striking."

Masket sent the survey to nearly 3,000 Republican Party chairs — for every county in the country. Only 187 responded. While the sample was small, the results are "certainly enough to conduct a statistically useful analysis," according to Masket.

The survey is one of a series planned by Politico — which will also include Democratic leaders — intended to reveal the mood of the so-called "invisible primary" period before any actual voting begins.