A recent study by the Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley found that 44% of potential GOP primary voters in the Golden State favor Donald Trump over other contenders, giving him an 18-point advantage. By comparison, only 26% of respondents said they supported DeSantis.
The survey also included 12 other Republicans, though none of them garnered more than 4% of the state’s likely GOP votes. A total of 13% of respondents indicated “other/undecided”.
Trump’s favor among registered Republicans in the state has increased over the past three months, while DeSantis’s has dipped slightly. Trump’s approval rating fell from 69% to 74% between February and this month, while Desantis’s fell from 79% to 75%.
The results underscore how difficult it is for Republican candidates to garner support while Trump is still in the race. Republican supporters believe Trump is receiving excessive attention from the media and the courts, according to IGS co-director G. Cristina Mora, who also issued a press release with the study. Even in California, where the majority of people have a negative impression of Trump, his presence is apparent.
Trump leads DeSantis by a wide margin, according to Berkeley IGS poll director Mark DiCamillo, though he polls particularly well among very conservative Republicans, men, non-college graduates and voters between the ages of 50 and 64.
Additionally, the poll asked respondents about their views on Trump’s culpability in the New York case involving the alleged sexual assault of author E. Jean Carroll. 66% of those polled downplayed the severity of the conviction, while three in four said they thought it was difficult for Trump to receive a fair trial in New York.
According to 86% of California Republicans polled, investigations into Trump’s behavior following the 2020 election “are more about politics and political revenge than about justice and law.”
Only 35% of California voters agreed with the statement, while the majority in the state believed that Trump could get a fair trial in New York and that the jury’s decision should be respected.
7,465 registered California voters participated in the poll, including 1,853 Republicans and 1,472 expected to vote in the state’s Republican presidential primary in March 2024. The poll was conducted May 17-22. The Los Angeles Times co-sponsored it.