A recent poll conducted by 538/Washington Post/Ispos reveals that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is perceived as the standout performer in the second Republican debate, according to the opinions of likely Republican primary voters.
The debate, hosted by FOX Business, took place in Simi Valley, California, and was a platform for the candidates to present their views and strategies.
Before the debate, the pollsters had sought the voters' predictions on the candidates' performances. The consensus was that Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the pack, with DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott, R-S.C., trailing closely behind.
However, the post-debate poll results painted a different picture. DeSantis emerged as the top performer, with 33% of the respondents endorsing his performance. Haley secured the second spot with 18%, while Ramaswamy slipped to third place with 15% of the votes.
On the other end of the spectrum, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was deemed the least impressive performer by 24% of the respondents. Former Vice President Mike Pence was close behind, with 20% of the voters expressing disappointment in his performance. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Ramaswamy were also seen as underperformers, with 11% and 10% of the voters, respectively, rating their performances as the worst.
Despite these shifts in perception, the overall support for the candidates remained largely unchanged. DeSantis saw a marginal increase in support from 51.0% to 51.9%, while Haley's support rose from 34.0% to 36.4%. Scott's support also increased slightly from 24.7% to 26.5%. Ramaswamy and Pence, however, experienced a slight dip in support.
Interestingly, support for Former President Donald Trump remained almost static, moving from 63.8% to 63.9%.
The poll also sought to understand the voters' priorities in terms of issues. A majority of the voters (55%) considered "Getting inflation or increased costs under control" as the most critical issue. "Controlling immigration" was a priority for 40% of the voters, while 24% prioritized the "Ability to beat Joe Biden."
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