DeSantis' campaign kickoff barely alters Trump's lead in polls

The start of Ron DeSantis' campaign to be the Republican nominee in the next presidential election has barely made a dent in Donald Trump's lead in the polls. The Florida governor increased his support by just 1% (22%), while the former president (56%) ceded just 1% as well. The other contenders remain far behind the duo, with Mike Pence (5%), who has yet to make his candidacy official, just ahead of Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswany, with 4% each.

Trump still 34 points ahead of DeSantis

These were the results of the latest Morning Consult survey published Wednesday. It is a similar snapshot to that of a week ago, when DeSantis made his candidacy official. At that time, Trump had 57% of the vote, compared to 21% for the Florida governor.

Trump supporters overwhelmingly opt for DeSantis as their second choice (47%). In the case of the Florida governor's supporters, even more would choose Trump second (51%).

Trump would tie with Biden, DeSantis would be defeated

The poll also asked participants who they would vote for in a hypothetical race against Joe Biden for the presidency. Trump would tie at 43%, while if DeSantis were to win the Republican nomination, the current occupant of the White House would be reelected by a three-point margin (43%-40%).

The rest are miles away

The rest of the candidates remain far behind the two favorites. Among those who have confirmed nominations, Haley and Ramaswamy are tied with 4% support, followed by Senator Tim Scott, who has 3%. Asa Hutchinson closes the list with 1%. Other possible candidates appear in the survey, although they have not yet indicated that they will participate in the primaries. These are former Vice President Pence (5%) and Liz Cheney (2%). Texas Governor Greg Abbott and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem each received 1% support.