DeSantis leads Biden in hypothetical matchup among Georgia voters: poll

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) holds a 4-percentage point lead over President Biden in a 2024 hypothetical matchup among those planning to vote in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff, according to a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released Thursday.

The poll found that when Georgia voters were asked who they would vote for in a 2024 White House hypothetical matchup between DeSantis and Biden, DeSantis received 47 percent support while Biden received 43 percent. 

A separate 6 percent said someone else while another 4 percent said they were undecided.

Meanwhile, when Georgia voters were asked about a hypothetical matchup between Biden and former President Trump, Biden received 44 percent while Trump received 43 percent. Another 11 percent said someone else and 2 percent said they were undecided.

“Trump runs similarly in 2024 as he did in 2020, losing by under a percentage point. DeSantis is able to pull ahead of Biden by four points in Georgia, driven by his support among key demographics that support Biden against Trump but flip to DeSantis when he is on the ballot,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

“Among Georgia independent voters, Biden wins over Trump by 6 points in a hypothetical contest, with 20% supporting ‘someone else.’ However, when the matchup is Biden vs. DeSantis, the Republican wins by three points, only 8% support "someone else.”

Kimball also noted that while Biden maintains an advantage among female voters against DeSantis and Trump, both Republicans lead Biden over male voters.

“Among women, Biden leads Trump by seven points. Against DeSantis, Biden’s lead shrinks to two points. Among men, Trump leads Biden by eight, and DeSantis leads Biden by 11,” Kimball said.

The polling comes amid increasing speculation that DeSantis will mount a bid to the White House and challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. The Florida governor has skirted questions about whether he will run, but Republicans saw his 19-point reelection last month as a bright spot in a mostly disappointing midterm election. 

Adding to the speculation, DeSantis is set to release a memoir in February - typically seen as a move preceding major presidential announcements.

The Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey was conducted between Nov. 28 and Nov. 30 with 888 very likely voters surveyed. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.