DeSantis shows early state strength in Iowa and N.H. polls
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters this month. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Two new polls from a top Republican polling firm — provided exclusively to Axios — find Florida Gov. DeSantis is running more competitively with former President Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire than he is faring in national surveys.
Driving the news: The surveys, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies from March 21 to 23 for an outside client (not a candidate or super PAC) found DeSantis leading Trump by eight points (45%-37%) in a head-to-head matchup in Iowa and tied with Trump (39%-39%) in New Hampshire.
- In a more crowded field including Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, DeSantis was tied with Trump in Iowa and trailed him by 12 points in New Hampshire.
Why it matters: National polling has shown Trump significantly ahead of DeSantis, but these polls suggest DeSantis is performing better in the early states where voters pay closer attention.
Between the lines: DeSantis' overall image is the strongest of all the prospective GOP candidates in both states.
- In Iowa, his favorability/unfavorability rating was a sterling 81%-11%. Trump's was 74%-24%. Haley's fav/unfav stood at 60%-19%, and former Vice President Mike Pence's was 59%-35%.
- In New Hampshire, DeSantis' favorability rating was 77%-15%, while Trump's was 69%-29%. Haley was at 54%-23%, while Pence's rating was a middling 50%-43%.
Reality check: There was one warning sign for DeSantis in the polling: Many Republican voters didn't see him as the "best candidate to defeat Joe Biden" — a proxy for electability.
- In New Hampshire, only 48% viewed DeSantis as the better candidate to defeat Biden, while 46% thought Trump was more electable. In Iowa, 54% viewed DeSantis as more electable, compared to 44% for Trump.
- Trump's biggest weakness was on temperament: 68% of Iowa Republicans rated DeSantis as having a better temperament than Trump, while 71% said the same in New Hampshire.
