More Republican voters who watched the debate are now reportedly considering voting for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to be the party’s nominee than any other candidate, including former President Donald Trump, according to a top poll conducted before and after the first Republican Party presidential primary debate in 2024.
The poll also revealed that Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador, advanced the most among the contenders.
According to the most recent results of a poll conducted by FiveThirtyEight, the Washington Post, and Ipsos, DeSantis won 29% of the vote, Vivek Ramaswamy 26%, and Haley 15% of the vote.
Former President Donald Trump, who opted not to debate, started the night in first place among GOP primary voters who indicated they would think about voting for each contender, with 66.2% indicating they would.
That percentage decreased to 61.4% after they failed to appear.
DeSantis moved up to the top rank after his performance, moving from #2 with 63% to #1 with 67.5%. Haley experienced the most total growth, moving from 30% to 47%.
The Washington Post poll also assessed how favorably and unfavorably people felt about the candidates.
At the end of the evening, DeSantis had the highest net favorable rating (47%) and the highest overall favorable rating (72.4%). Ramaswamy’s net favorability experienced the opposite trend, dropping 9 percentage points from 37% to 28%, while Haley’s net favorability increased by 13 percentage points from 26% to 39%.
Trump’s popularity fell from 31% to 24%.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) had the lowest unfavorable rating with a score of 23.2%, and DeSantis came in second with a score of 26.8%. With a 42% net favorable rating, Scott ranked second.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Calls Out Hunter Biden for Making A Fortune due to His ‘Art’ From Debate Stage]
