Trump extends poll lead over DeSantis — and nobody else matters

Published: March 23, 2023, 6:41 p.m.

In the RealClearPolitics average of polls, there are 59 polls, going back to January 2021, on the Republican presidential race. In 58 of them, former President Donald Trump was the leading candidate, sometimes by huge margins. There was one poll, from CNN, done between March 8-12, that showed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in the lead. The margin was small — DeSantis led Trump by just 2 points — but the significance was big. Here was a first sign that perhaps another Republican candidate could overtake Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.