Ron DeSantis Falls to Third Place in Key 2024 State: Poll

Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is trailing behind former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, according to a new Fox Business poll published on Sunday.

In the poll, it shows almost half of South Carolina likely Republican primary voters choose Trump in the 2024 primary contest, with 48 percent. That number is slightly larger among people who said they would definitely vote in the February 24 primary, with 51 percent. According to the poll, the former president saw his largest support from those who identify as very conservative at 57 percent.

Lagging far behind Trump, Haley has 14 percent of the vote, DeSantis has 13 percent, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has 10 percent. No other candidate reaches double-digit support. The poll was conducted between July 15-19 with 808 likely participants. The poll also has a 3.5 percent margin of error.

While South Carolina trails Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada in the 2024 primaries, winning the Palmetto State means crucial early momentum in every primary that follows. Since 1980, every South Carolina winner, but former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2012 has gone on to take the GOP nomination.

The Fox Business poll comes after a difficult two weeks for DeSantis. His second-quarter fundraising report indicated that he raised $20 million in the first six weeks he was in the race, less than Trump but more than other Republican candidates, but burned through $8 million in the same period. NBC News reported that the figures suggest "solvency" could be a threat to his campaign and that he dismissed about a dozen staffers.

Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis' campaign via email for comment.

However, the Florida governor did see some good news as a University of New Hampshire poll released on Tuesday found him gaining ground on Trump in the 2024 primary race. The former president's 20-point lead in April over DeSantis shrunk to 14 in the poll, which was conducted among 898 likely GOP primary voters between July 13 and 17.

Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek on Sunday the recent polls are a reminder that the race is still very fluid.

"It's too early to say whether this is a sign that he [DeSantis] is not resonating with voters or if it is simply a temporary setback. However, it is clear that DeSantis will need to do a better job of connecting with voters if he wants to climb out of this polling slump," he said.

Agranoff continued: "One potential reason for DeSantis' recent struggles is that he has been overshadowed by Donald Trump. Trump is still the most popular figure in the Republican Party, and he is sure to be a major factor in the 2024 election. Regardless of good or bad news, Trump always appears to be the main story. If DeSantis wants to win, he will need to find a way to differentiate himself from Trump and appeal to voters who are looking for a new leader."