Trump tops Biden for first time in Morning Consult poll

Former President Trump took a 3-point lead over President Biden among registered voters in a new survey in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

In the Morning Consult poll published Tuesday, 44 percent said they would cast their support for Trump, while 41 percent of those said they would choose Biden. 

When asked about a hypothetical matchup between Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), 42 percent of registered voters surveyed said they would support Biden, while 40 percent of those surveyed cast their support for DeSantis. 

When potential Republican primary voters were asked who their second choice would be after Trump, 42 percent said they would support DeSantis. Meanwhile, 14 percent said their second choice is former Vice President Mike Pence, and 13 percent said entrepreneur-turned-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would be their backup choice, according to the poll. 

Among potential GOP primary voters whose first choice was DeSantis, 45 percent said they would support Trump, while 15 percent said their second choice would be Pence and 14 percent chose Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

Trump and DeSantis are seen as the two frontrunners in the crowded field of Republican presidential candidates seeking their party’s nomination in 2024. Biden still holds a substantial lead on the Democratic side.

Trump, who faces legal battles and federal investigations against him and his company, announced his third bid to run for president at his Mar-a-Lago estate in November. Biden announced his reelection bid in April, setting up a potential rematch between him and Trump.

DeSantis, who has been Florida’s governor since 2019, launched his presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces forum with billionaire Elon Musk last month. 

The poll released Tuesday also found 76 percent of potential Republican primary voters have a favorable opinion of Trump, while 23 percent of those surveyed have an unfavorable opinion of the former president. 

Likewise, 67 percent have a favorable opinion of DeSantis, while 21 percent think differently of the governor. 

The Morning Consult poll was conducted between June 23-25 among approximately 6,000 registered voters and has a margin of error of 1 percentage point. Results regarding second choices came from a survey for 3,650 potential Republican primary voters, with a margin of error between 2 and 4 percentage points. Results regarding candidate favorability came from a survey of roughly 800 potential Republican primary voters with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

–Updated on June 28 at 8:09 a.m.