One-third of GOP debate watchers say DeSantis performed best: survey
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, left, argues a point with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, right, between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX Business Network and Univision, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
One-third of people who watched the second GOP presidential primary debate said they think Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis performed the best, a survey found.
According to the survey, conducted by The Washington Post and Ipsos, 33 percent of debate watchers said DeSantis outperformed his competitors. Respondents thought former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley performed second-best, earning 18 percent.
Vivek Ramaswamy earned 15 percent, while former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) each received 6 percent. Only 3 percent of watchers thought former Vice President Mike Pence performed best, and 2 percent said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Almost a quarter, 24 percent, of respondents who watched the second debate thought Christie performed the worst. Only 3 percent of watchers thought Scott did the worst.
More than half of watchers, 54 percent, said they thought DeSantis performed “excellent” or “very good.” Nearly half, 48 percent, said they thought Pence performed “poor” or “terrible.”
Almost 40 percent of watchers said the GOP debate did a poor job covering former President Trump’s indictments.
After watching Wednesday’s debate, 60 percent of respondents said they have a favorable view of Trump, who skipped both the first and second debate. Following closely behind, 58 percent of respondents have a favorable view of DeSantis.
More than half, 55 percent, of respondents said they have an unfavorable view of Christie, while 53 percent said they have an unfavorable view of Pence.
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they would consider voting for Trump in the Republican primary, while 51 percent said they would consider voting for DeSantis.
The survey was conducted Sept. 27-28 and had 2,262 respondents that the organization deemed “likely to vote in the upcoming Republican primary or caucus.” The margin of error is 2.3 percentage points.