The 2024 race for the White House has now officially begun, with several Republican hopefuls having announced their candidacy and others seriously considering a run.
The biggest name in the race so far is obviously former President Donald Trump, whose massive supporter base will make him a force to be reckoned with. But there is also another big name that has been floated by conservatives.
Of course, that name is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose firm stance against woke indoctrination of students and the COVID tyranny has won the hearts of conservatives everywhere. Yet despite many wishing that he would run, he has yet to announce his candidacy.
So, with Trump, DeSantis and other big Republicans being associated with the 2024 election, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade decided to take a quick, unscientific little poll of average conservative voters to see where their sympathies lie.
On Tuesday, Kilmeade cohosted an episode of “Fox & Friends.” As part of the episode, he surveyed a handful of patrons at a very crowded Metro Diner in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, regarding their preferred candidate for the presidency.
“Rapid fire! Who’s your man? Who’s your woman?” Kilmeade asked the diners.
To the surprise of many, including possibly Kilmeade, the first six of them said that Trump was their preferred candidate. At least one of them said “Trump and [South Dakota Governor] Kristi Noem” and two of them specified, “Trump and [former South Carolina Gov.] Nikki Haley.”
He then approached a seventh customer, a woman who was wearing a “Governor DeSantis” T-shirt.
“I see Governor DeSantis, but what about President DeSantis?” he asked the woman, who said that she was fine with either Trump or DeSantis.
WATCH: Fox’s Brian Kilmeade Has To SEARCH A Florida Diner To Find a Single Person Who Supports DeSantis Over Trump for 2024 — And Even She’s On The Fence. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/GmFEDfD2Oo
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) February 28, 2023
Of course, seven opinions out of several dozen people in the restaurant hardly constitute a definitive trend. But it was an interesting outcome in what appeared to be a random sampling.
Given how much DeSantis’ name is being floated by conservatives, it is really interesting to see that almost no one mentioned him as their preferred candidate, especially in Florida.
Now, it is highly unlikely that any of these people dislike DeSantis and do not want to see him become president, as most, if not all of them, probably voted for him in the midterm elections.
Even many Democrats chose to cast their vote for DeSantis, showing just how far his popularity extends in Florida.
So, if these patrons like DeSantis, then how come they prefer a Trump presidency? Some on Twitter suggested that the reason they favor Trump is that they do not want to lose a good governor.
They dont want to give up the best governor in the United States .
— Amerikangirldol (@Amerikangirldl6) February 28, 2023
I live in Florida, my take on this is that many don’t want us to lose our great governor.
— Richard H (@auburntiger78) February 28, 2023
This is a worthwhile consideration. DeSantis has done a fantastic job as governor of Florida and is massively popular among the residents of the state.
It is possible that these people want him to finish what he started before moving on to the presidency.
Another possible reason is that DeSantis is, at the moment, not yet running for president, and they do not want to throw their support behind someone who may or may not run.
Either way, this is an interesting informal poll, and it indicates that Trump is still massively popular among the Republican base going into the next election cycle.
