Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has overtaken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in another national Republican primary poll.
Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has taken an even bigger lead, according to renown pollster Scott Rasmussen’s latest national survey – first reported by The Daily Signal.
Trump continues to dominate the field, with 60 percent support of Republican primary voters. He holds a commanding 47-point lead over his nearest competitor, according to the poll from RMG Research Inc. shared with The Daily Signal.
The former president’s closest competitor is now political outsider Ramaswamy, who received 13 percent backing of GOP primary voters. DeSantis, who has been locked in the No. 2 position for months, has seen his support erode as Ramaswamy has risen. The Florida governor is in now in third in the Rasmussen poll, with 8 percent, a decline of 7 percentage points since the poll’s Aug.7-8 survey, according to The Daily Signal. Ramaswamy, on the other hand, has soared 10 percentage points since his 3 percent showing in Rasmussen’s June 21-22 poll.
“Vivek went from polling at 0.0 percent to polling second in a crowded field. He’s just getting warmed up and we look forward to him being at the center of the debate stage,” Tricia McLaughlin, communications director for Ramaswamy’s campaign told The Star News Network Wednesday.
The latest survey was conducted Aug. 11-14, before word of Trump’s latest indictment in Fulton County, GA. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was fourth, at 5 percent, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 4 percent. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina had 2 percent.
Earlier this week, a Kaplan Strategies poll shows Ramaswamy passing DeSantis for second place. The Ohio businessman was backed by 11 percent of primary voters compared to 10 percent for the Florida governor.
Trump checked in with 47 percent support in that poll.
The latest shifting poll dynamics should make for some interesting moments at the upcoming Republican primary debate in Milwaukee slated for next week.
– – –
M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photos “Vivek Ramaswamy” and “Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
