Former Trump supporters ‘tired’ want DeSantis for GOP future: pollsters

Republican voters appear to be “tired” of former President Donald Trump and are looking at other options for the party’s future, according to GOP poll researcher Frank Luntz.

In an interview with MSNBC Tuesday morning, Luntz shared clips of a virtual focus group with voters who voted for Trump at least once during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

During the focus group, Luntz asked attendees to describe Trump in one word or phrase, to which voters responded with phrases like “narcissistic,” “disturbing,” or “stay off Twitter.”

In contrast, Luntz also asked the group to describe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom some conservative leaders have hailed as the top pick for the GOP in the 2024 presidential election. Voters described the governor as “promising,” “a leader,” and “up and coming.”

Luntz told MSNBC the responses show former Trump supporters are “tired” after a disappointing midterm election.

“They still appreciate him, they still think he was a great president, that hasn’t changed,” Luntz said. “But now they’re looking at him and they’re like, ‘Why all this mess?'”

Some respondents used positive words to still describe the former president, such as “fighter” or saying that Trump is “still right.” But both the GOP leadership and voters are beginning to split over backing his third presidential campaign.

According to polls by the conservative Political Action Committee’s (PAC) Club for Growth, DeSantis is leading Trump in hypothetical primary elections in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states on the GOP’s primary calendar for 2024. The Florida governor, who won his re-election in November, by double digits , also outperforms Trump in southern states like Florida and Georgia.

news week previously reported that DeSantis was also the only Republican to break even in a hypothetical matchup against President Joe Biden in 2024, according to FiveThirtyEight polling data.

Trump, however, beats DeSantis by 55 to 25 percent in a national poll by Emerson College released Tuesday and is even stronger among younger Republican voters, beating the governor by 67 to 14 percent among voters under 50. DeSantis has yet to formally announce his 2024 candidacy.

Luntz added Tuesday that several Republican voters are also “angry” with Trump for his — and lack of — support in the 2022 midterm elections.

“When you tell Republican Trump voters that he raised over $100 million and donated only 15 percent or less of it to these candidates, they get angry,” Luntz said. “Trump voters are fed up with all the Trump-focused hysteria, and they want someone different, and they see Ron DeSantis as different at this point.”

forbes The magazine reported earlier this month that Trump’s lead PAC, Save America, has raised nearly $100 million since its inception following the 2020 election. However, Trump appears to have kept much of that money to himself – Reuters reported that the committee had $69 million available at the end of October.

news week asked Trump’s press team for comment.