Ron DeSantis gaining on Trump in Iowa, in virtual tie, internal poll shows

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is closing the gap on former President Donald Trump in the early nominating state of Iowa, according to an internal poll out this week.

The survey by WPA Intelligence for the DeSantis-supporting Never Back Down super PAC showed the 44-year-old governor in a virtual tie with the 76-year-old Trump in a head-to-head contest.

Trump had 45% support, while DeSantis had 43% support and 12% were undecided.

An early May head-to-head poll, taken before the Florida governor formally entered the race, showed Trump with 53% support, DeSantis on 39% and 8% undecided.

DeSantis also made up ground on Trump in an Iowa survey that incorporated the full field.

In that poll, Trump had 39% support, DeSantis had 29%, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) had 7%, and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley had 6% support.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy each had 4% support, while none of the other contenders cracked 1%.

In early May, the same survey found Trump had 48% support, DeSantis had 24% and Haley had 10% support, with no other candidate topping double figures.

“The Republican presidential caucus is a two-person race between Governor Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump,” wrote WPA CEO Chris Wilson and managing director Conor Maguire, both advisers to Never Back Down.

“Despite heavy media attacks against Governor DeSantis, along with some rallying to Donald Trump following the New York indictment, DeSantis’ ballot share has grown in the past month while no other candidate exceeds single digits.”

The poll also found that three-quarters of likely Iowa GOP caucus-goers had a favorable view of DeSantis, while just 17% had an unfavorable view.

The governor had his highest favorability among men (80%) and women (79%) who held at least a college degree, while his favorability scores among Iowans without college degrees stood at 69%.

The survey also showed DeSantis edging Trump 46% to 45% among self-described Christen conservatives, who Wilson and Maguire said make up nearly half the Iowa Republican electorate.

The poll was released after DeSantis and his wife Casey kicked off his campaign last week with a whirlwind tour of Iowa and the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Trump also visited Iowa last week, holding a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Trump still holds a sizable lead over DeSantis in public polling of the Hawkeye State.

The RealClearPolitics polling average in Iowa shows the former president on 47.7%, DeSantis at 25.3%, Haley on 5.3%, Pence on 3.7% and Ramaswamy rounding out the top five at 2.3%.

The 45th president’s lead over his competitors is even wider among national Republican voters.

The RealClearPolitics average shows Trump on 53.2%, DeSantis on 22.4%, Haley on 4.4%, Pence on 3.8%, and Ramaswamy again in fifth averaging 2.6% support.

WPA Intelligence surveyed 655 likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers May 30 and June 1.

The poll’s margin of error was plus-or-minus 3.8 percentage points.