Trump holds wide lead among California Republicans, DeSantis support slips in new poll

Former President Trump holds a wide lead over the rest of the GOP presidential field among California Republicans, while support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has fallen in the state, new polling shows. 

A new poll from University of California Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found Trump ahead with 55 percent of likely Republican primary voters in the state, far ahead of DeSantis, who was in second place with 16 percent.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley scored 7 percent, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy got 4 percent. Four other candidates included in the poll each scored 3 percent or less, and another 9 percent of California Republicans chose others or were undecided.

Trump is up from 44 percent support in May of this year and 29 percent in February, showing his support in the state grew even amid his various indictments on state and federal charges in recent months. 

DeSantis’s support, on the other hand, fell 10 points from 26 percent in May and 37 percent in February. 

The California poll is the latest indicator of DeSantis’s slipping support and Trump’s continued commanding lead over the rest of the field. 

A release from the Berkeley Institute noted that, under new California Republican Party rules, Trump would secure all of California’s delegates to the Republican National Convention in 2024 if he holds onto more than 50 percent of the state’s GOP primary voters.

Conducted Aug. 24-29, the poll surveyed 1,175 Republicans likely to vote in California’s GOP presidential primary, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for that group.