The 2024 election is still literally years away from today, but you wouldn’t know it by the way in which the media is acting.
You see, Donald Trump is a surefire key to catching big headlines and big ratings, and the media knows it. With the former President the likely GOP nominee in ’24, his gravity has pulled a great many pundits and anchors toward the coming presidential election, knowing that their viewers are likely curious about what Trump is up to.
But there are some other names floating around as potential candidates as well, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who looks ready to actually beat Trump for the gig…just so long as one very specific circumstance is met.
If DeSantis were to secure the Republican presidential nomination — a mighty big “if” — Trump would have to decide whether or not to run as an independent candidate.
That’s the scenario that was imagined in a new YouGov poll released this week that illustrates the dilemma facing Republicans in 2024.
Respondents were asked, “If the 2024 presidential election were held today between the following candidates, who would you vote for?”
Here is where it gets interesting:
Among registered voters, 44 percent responded “Joe Biden, the Democrat,” a full 21 points ahead of the runner-up, DeSantis — whose 23 percent support is a full five points higher than the 18 percent who said they’d vote for “Donald Trump, running as an Independent.”
And in that same matchup, among Trump voters, 51 percent said they’d vote for DeSantis, with only 36 percent saying they would vote for Trump.
An independent Trump is certainly a nightmare scenario for the Republican Party, and the only way to guarantee that that doesn’t happen is for the GOP to nominate him themselves.
