Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is on just nine percent in the Republican primary race in Ohio, trailing entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, now on 12 percent.
Former President Donald Trump is dominates the field in the Buckeye State, according to Ohio Northern University polling, on 64 percent. DeSantis — who has presented himself as Trump without the baggage, but campaigned as Jeb Bush without the name recognition — is now in third place behind Ramaswamy, a candidate who lacks the prior celebrity or record in high office of his competitors – but is beating all expectations for his candidacy.
The Ohio polling also punctures the DeSantis camp’s narrative that the Floridian has a better chance of beating President Joe Biden than Trump, having him eke out a narrow 41-39 victory over the octogenarian Democrat while Trump smashes him by a much wider margin of 49 to 39 percent.
Media outlets owned by Rupert Murdoch, already backing off their previous support for DeSantis amid insider reports that he can “smell a loser”, had suggested Ramaswamy was displacing the Florida Governor as Trump’s main competitor before the Ohio polling was released.
2024 Ohio Republican Primary:
Trump 64%
Ramaswamy 12%
DeSantis 9%
Pence 6%
Haley 3%
Christie 2%
Hutchinson 1%Ohio Northern University, 7/17-26https://t.co/sn585Hp39P
— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) July 28, 2023