DeSantis leads Trump in Florida, new poll finds

A new poll released Tuesday shows Ron DeSantis narrowly besting Donald Trump in Florida in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary, a sign of the GOP governor’s strength in his home state despite recent indications that the former president’s campaign is gaining momentum ahead of an expected criminal indictment.

The survey, from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc., finds DeSantis receiving a plurality of support, 44%, while Trump receives the backing of 39% of GOP voters.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley comes in third, with just 3% of the Republican vote. Twelve percent of voters are undecided.

The poll was released on the same day the former president, himself a resident of Palm Beach, Florida, is expected to be arraigned in New York City, reportedly on charges connected to a hush-money payment to an adult-film actress. News of the indictment has pushed many Republican leaders — a group that includes DeSantis — to rally in support of Trump, arguing he is being unfairly targeted by a Democratic prosecutor.

National polls have shown Trump gaining ground since news of the indictment began to leak. A Fox News survey released last week found Trump earning 54% of the GOP vote across the country, compared to 24% for DeSantis.

DeSantis has yet to officially declare that he is running for president, although he is widely expected to do so after the state’s legislative session ends this spring. In recent weeks, he has embarked on a nationwide book tour that has seen him touting his policy victories in Florida and positioning himself as the best GOP candidate to win a general election next year.

Other surveys have found a similarly tight race in Florida: One mid-March survey, from Emerson College Polling, showed Trump leading DeSantis in the state, 47% to 44%.

The Mason-Dixon poll surveyed 507 registered Republican voters who it says indicated that they regularly vote in GOP primaries. It has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.