Senate Republicans are expressing concern and saying they’re getting “heartburn” over the latest Fox News poll showing Donald Trump leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 15 points among Republican presidential primary voters.
As noted by The Hill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republicans hoped Trump’s political strength would fade the more time he spent outside the Oval Office. They don’t think Trump can win a general election match-up against President Biden and blamed the “chaos” surrounding Trump for the party’s disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm election.
The Fox poll found Trump beating DeSantis by double digits among white Republican voters without a college degree, primary voters earning less than $50,000, white rural voters and white evangelical voters. It also showed that DeSantis led Trump 37 percent to 30 percent among white GOP voters with college degrees and they were virtually tied among suburban GOP voters, The Hill reports.
Republican strategists say the poll shows Trump is more resilient than many party insiders expected.
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GOP strategist and former Senate aide Brian Darling said Trump’s critics in the party establishment are feeling heartburn over the former president’s popularity with GOP voters.
“It’s clear that Trump is the front-runner and Republicans in Washington need to get used to that idea,” said Darling, adding that Trump “is showing more strength as he gets more active which should give the congressional delegation of Never Trumpers some pause.”
However, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who was one of seven Senate Republicans to vote to convict Trump on an impeachment charge related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, said he still doesn’t think the former president can win a general election.
