DeSantis leads Democratic challengers in 2022 Florida gubernatorial race

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has clear leads over his three most likely Democratic challengers in the 2022 midterm elections, a new poll shows.

The survey from the non-partisan Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found DeSantis captures a clear majority of votes in matchups against Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), and state Sen. Annette Taddeo.

Polling shows DeSantis leads Crist, who has served one term as Florida governor, by a 51% to 45% margin amongst registered Florida voters. DeSantis has a similar lead against Fried by a 53% to 42% margin and leads Taddeo 53 to 37.

DeSantis holds an even wider margin among independents, where he leads Crist 56% to 333%.

This is a sharp reversal from 2018, where DeSantis won by only 33,000 votes out of more than 8.1 million cast – 0.4 percentage points – over former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

His conservative governance and popular approach to the COVID-19 pandemic since taking office has led many to cast him as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, to the irritation of former President and Florida resident Donald Trump.

53% of those polled say they approve of the job DeSantis has done as governor, while 43 % disapproved.

Crist is the most popular amongst the states’ Democrats, holding 44% of the vote compared to Fried’s 27 % and Taddeo’s 3%. A quarter remain undecided in the run-up to the Aug. 23 primary.

The Mason-Dixon poll was conducted Feb. 7-10 among 625 registered Florida voters, with an oversample of likely Democratic voters for more detail on the primary.