DeSantis leads Trump in Michigan, ‘DeSanctimonious’ taunt falls flat: poll

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads former President Donald Trump among Republican primary voters in the critical state of Michigan, according to a new poll.

The survey by Echelon Insights found 47% of GOP backers in the Mitten State favored DeSantis, 44, in a head-to-head matchup with the 76-year-old Trump, while 42% backed the former president. The remaining 11% didn’t know their pick or refused to answer.

The poll found DeSants leading Trump among key demographic groups — including seniors (54-32), men (51-41) and residents of the Detroit area (48-40).

However, Trump did narrowly lead DeSantis among Republican women, 43% to 40%.

The poll comes as Trump and DeSantis are traveling across the country this week. The 45th president on Wednesday traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, following a toxic chemical spill caused by a train derailment — one of the few high-profile trips he has made beyond Mar-a-Lago since announcing his candidacy Nov. 15.

DeSantis traveled this week to New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago to give talks to law enforcement groups battling a crime wave in those Democrat-run cities. On Monday, he told an audience in Staten Island that “the foundation of Florida’s success has been a commitment to law and order and support for the men and women who wear the uniform.”

The Florida governor is widely expected to announce his own presidential run later this year, but has played coy when asked by interviewers.

Notably, just 30% of Michigan GOP voters said they have heard “a lot or some” about Trump’s favorite nickname for the Florida governor: “Ron DeSanctimonious.” Another 68% said they had heard “not much or nothing at all” about the moniker.

Almost half (45%) of respondents who said they had heard a lot or some about the name-calling said it reflected “more poorly on Trump.” Another 50% said it didn’t change their opinion, and just 5% said it made them think “more poorly of DeSantis.”

Trump has also reportedly referred to DeSantis as “Shutdown Ron” when speaking in private of COVID lockdowns in Florida, as well as “Meatball Ron.” He has since said on his social media platform Truth Social that he would never use the latter term because “it would be totally inappropriate to use the word ‘meatball’ as a moniker for Ron!”

GOP pollster Patrick Ruffini, who oversaw the Echelon Insights survey, said the Michigan results were “notable given Trump’s surprise victory there in 2016 and his past strength throughout the Midwest and Rust Belt states.”

Ruffini added that the Michigan poll was “consistent with state polls throughout the country that show DeSantis leading or competitive with Trump.”

Michigan was one of three “blue wall” states Trump flipped during the 2016 presidential election, along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. All three states voted for Joe Biden over Trump in 2020.

Michigan Republicans also have lost the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature since 2018, as many Trump-backed candidates did poorly with the general electorate.

The poll asked the opinions of 400 GOP primary voters in Michigan from Feb. 13-16. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 6 percentage points.