U.S. Republican Primary Polls Show "Trump First"... Fierce Battle for Second Place

As the approval rating of Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate, declines, a competition for second place is unfolding between him and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

On the 20th (local time), Emerson College conducted a survey over two days starting from the 16th targeting 1,000 registered voters. The results showed that former U.S. President Donald Trump maintained an overwhelming lead with a 56% approval rating among Republican primary candidates.

Meanwhile, DeSantis, who once formed a two-horse race with former President Trump, recorded only 10% approval, matching the figure of Ramaswamy.

Previously, in the same survey conducted in June, Governor DeSantis had a 21% approval rating, but his support has significantly dropped over two months. During the same period, Ramaswamy's approval rating rose by 2 percentage points.

In a Fox News survey conducted from the 11th to the 14th, DeSantis and Ramaswamy recorded approval ratings of 16% and 11%, respectively, forming a contest for second place.

DeSantis's campaign, facing a sharp decline in approval ahead of the first Republican primary debate scheduled for the 23rd, has started to view Ramaswamy as a threat. Major foreign media reported internal campaign documents revealing that DeSantis plans to actively defend former President Trump and deliver a critical blow to Ramaswamy during the primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Regarding these reports, DeSantis denied them outright in a Fox interview the previous day, stating, "That memo is not mine," and "I have never read it."

Meanwhile, Republican candidates have begun pressuring former President Trump, who is reportedly planning to skip the first candidate debate, to participate in the primary debate. Instead of attending the first Republican primary debate broadcast by Fox News, Trump is expected to appear in an interview with Tucker Carlson, the former flagship anchor who was ousted from Fox.

Mike Pence, former Vice President and Trump’s running mate during his presidency but now a competitor, appeared on ABC’s "This Week" and said, "What I learned from working alongside former President Trump for a long time is that it’s not over until it’s over," adding, "I still hope that former President Trump will show up at the debate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.