(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/22/2023) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a 47%-to-42% lead over former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical showdown between the two for the Republican presidential nomination in Michigan, according to a Feb. 13-16 survey of 400 likely GOP primary voters.
The Echelon Insights survey has DeSantis up 54% to 32% with voters 65 and older, 51% to 41% with men and 48% to 40% in the Detroit media market. Trump is up 43% to 40% among the women surveyed.
The survey also found that 68% of those asked hadn't heard Trump's "Ron DeSanctimonious" nickname for DeSantis. Among those who have, 45% said they felt it reflected more poorly on Trump. Another 5% said it reflected poorly on DeSantis and 50% said it didn't impact their opinion of either.
The margin of error is +/- 6%.
DeSantis has not announced his intentions for seeking the White House, although political observers believe he will jump into the race later this spring, after the Florida legislature finishes its session.
Trump announced he was making a third run shortly after the 2022 mid-term elections. Vivek Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old former biotech executive, announced today that he's running for the post. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is in the race, as is Southeast Michigan "quality guru" Perry Johnson.
Johnson cut a press release today saying he intends to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee, even if it's him. The move comes as the Republican National Committee's Temporary Standing Committee on Presidential Debates is meeting later this week to discuss whether to mandate a loyalty pledge.
Johnson is on board.
"Only one of us will be chosen as the Republican nominee, and it is important that those who do not make the cut still offer their support to that person," Johnson said. "We must stand unified if we are to succeed. With that, I urge my fellow candidates to support the eventual nominee."
Johnson is still struggling to be recognized by the national media as a presidential candidate. Reports on the race from The Washington Post, Forbes and other national publications still don't list Johnson in the field, even though they list Ramaswamy, who just hopped into the race today.
