(NewsNation) — Polling from Morning Consult shows that while former President Donald Trump remains the front-runner in the 2024 presidential primary race, his lead has narrowed since December.
Trump launched a third bid for the White House in November. His announcement came a week after midterm elections that delivered disappointing results for Republicans, who gained only 10 seats in the House and lost a seat in the Senate.
Republican and Democratic nominating conferences are still more than a year away, but already a “shadow campaign” is underway between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a likely contender for the 2024 nomination.
In the latest poll from Morning Consult, Trump holds a 45% to 34% lead over DeSantis among potential Republican voters. That figure is at its lowest point since Morning Consult began tracking the hypothetical matchup in December, when Trump enjoyed a 50%-to-30% lead over DeSantis.
Trump has been highly critical of DeSantis, previously telling NewsNation the former president’s endorsement was responsible for getting DeSantis elected as governor.
“He was not going to be able to even be a factor in the race,” Trump said in November, referring to the GOP gubernatorial primary. “And as soon as I endorsed him, within moments, the race was over. I got him the nomination. He didn’t get it. I got it, because the minute I made that endorsement, he got it.”
DeSantis, who resoundingly won reelection against Democrat Charlie Crist, has remained mum about any potential 2024 run. Instead, he has stayed focused on his own state, where he’s vowed to fight “woke” ideology.
“We fight the woke in the legislature, we fight the woke in the schools, we fight the woke in the corporations. We will never ever surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die,” DeSantis said in his victory speech on election night.
Other candidates included in the Morning Consult tracker are former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served in the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations.
None of these potential candidates has announced their candidacy, though Pence’s team denied last month that paperwork stating he has filed to run for president in 2024 was genuine. Devin O’Malley, the former press secretary for Pence, tweeted that the former vice president did not file the form with the Federal Election Commission and alluded to the filing being a “prank.”