IN FLORIDA, GOP DUDES DIG DeSANTIS

Last night I told you about a survey conducted by GOP pollster Patrick Ruffini that showed Donald Trump crushing Ron DeSantis in a 2024 primary race. Ruffini insisted that Trump's lead was largely a matter of name recognition. But in Florida, where DeSantis is presumably as well known as Trump, the ex-president beats the governor, though it's fairly close:

A survey conducted late last month by Suffolk University and USA Today found Trump was the choice of 47% of those surveyed, while DeSantis was preferred by 40% in that hypothetical head-to-head matchup.

But here's the interesting part:

A gender gap exists here for the Governor. DeSantis led Trump by 1 percentage point with male voters. Female voters, however, went for Trump 51% to 38%.

And that isn't the only gender gap. Both DeSantis and Trump are beating Joe Biden in a general-election matchup, but while Trump leads among men by 14 (53%-39%), DeSantis leads among men by 20 (58%-38%). As a result, DeSantis's overall lead versus Biden is larger. Also polled are matchups between each of the candidates and (groan) Hillary Clinton -- again, both Republicans are leading, but DeSantis is leading by more, and the governor's lead among men is much larger (61%-34% vs. Trump's 55%-36%).

Why is DeSantis more popular among right-wing men in Florida than among right-wing women? Look at how he does his job. He bashes the media. He attacks Anthony Fauci. He's doing this every day while Trump's recent public appearances have been sporadic. I assume he's doing well among Florida men on the right because he's a more effective bully right now.

I'm not sure why Republican women prefer Trump. Can it really be because they think he's saving the children from adrenochrome-craving Democratic pedophiles? Do they regard him as more of a star-spangled hero than a bully? I assume, perhaps in a sexually stereotyping way, that men like bullies more than women do. Has Trump lost the "biggest bully" crown, at least according to the GOP base in Florida? If so, I think he can win it back, particularly by bullying DeSantis if DeSantis challenges him. But he'd better get to work.