Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis loses lead in GOP race, poll finds

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lost the lead to former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical two-man race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov Poll. 

Although the Florida governor has not announced a presidential campaign, he is considered one of the top choices among the poll's respondents for the GOP candidate of 2024's elections.

In a previous Yahoo News/YouGov poll, DeSantis was leading the race by four percentage points. However, the results of the latest poll show Trump leading DeSantis by eight percentage points. 

According to the poll, 47% of registered Republicans and republican leaning independents said they would vote for Trump, compared to 39% who said they would vote for DeSantis. 

The results of the Yahoo News/YouGov poll were matched by three other pollsters. A new Emerson College poll from January found that Trump had a 30-point lead against the Florida Governor.

Similarly, a poll by Echelon Insights shows Trump leading DeSantis by 15 points, despite leading by only 2 points a month ago. A Fox News presidential primary poll also found that Trump was leading by 15 points. 

The results of the polls seem to suggest that Trump could be more resilient than his opponents hoped during the 2024 presidential elections, according to Yahoo News. 

When set in a hypothetical three-way matchup against DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump gained 5 percentage points over his opponents. 

The latest Yahoo News/ YouGov Poll surveyed 1,516 adults from February 23 to 27. It has a margin error of plus or minus 2.7%.