In a huge switch echoed by other voting blocks, gun advocates are swinging behind former President Donald Trump’s bid to be the Republican presidential nominee for a third straight time.
The American Firearms Association told Secrets on Wednesday that nearly three-quarters of its members back Trump for the GOP nomination, giving up on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led a similar survey in November.
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The poll of over 2,000 members revealed a massive shift from late last year when DeSantis was up big in surveys after his impressive reelection victory. When the Second Amendment group polled in November 2022, DeSantis was leading Trump 68% to 28%.
NEW PRESIDENTIAL POLL RESULTS
— American Firearms Association (@2A_Freedom) July 26, 2023
AFA asked more than 2,000 of our members nationwide:
Donald Trump: 70.76%
Ron DeSantis: 15.54%
Vivek Ramaswamy: 4.29%
Nikki Haley: 2.32%
Tim Scott: 2.32%
Mike Pence: 1.5%
Doug Burgum: less than 1%
Chris Christie: less than 1%
Other: 2.43% pic.twitter.com/s3AjkiGScj
Less than a year later, Trump leads DeSantis 70%-15%.
Patrick Parsons, the executive vice president of the gun group, said as Trump has recovered his front-runner status and DeSantis has swooned, AFA members have followed along. And sensing Trump’s dominance in the race, members are also looking past some of the former president’s gun-control moves to support him.
“Late last year, Gov. DeSantis was leading Trump by a significant margin in a similar poll of our members. As you can see in our most recent poll, the numbers have almost completely flipped in favor of Trump,” Parsons said.
The American Firearms Association conducted a nationwide poll of its members yesterday asking the following question.
— American Firearms Association (@2A_Freedom) November 11, 2022
Who do you support for President: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, or someone else?
Results:
Ron DeSantis: (68.8%)
Donald Trump: (28.9%)
Someone else: (2.3%) pic.twitter.com/UrQnruRO0c
“Despite DeSantis signing a version of constitutional carry into law earlier this year, and on the opposite side, Trump's advocacy for ‘red flags’ and the ‘bump stock’ ban while he was in office, right now gun owners are backing Trump," Parsons said. "I think what you're seeing here in this poll is the result of seven or eight months of constant attacks on DeSantis by Trump and very little fighting back by DeSantis. Here at the end of July, five and a half months before Iowa [GOP caucuses], gun owners clearly see Trump as the guy they want to take on Biden in 2024."
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While it was an unscientific online poll of just members, the survey lines up well with other national polls of general GOP support for Trump and DeSantis. For example, a Morning Consult survey published yesterday also showed Trump up big over DeSantis, 59%-16%, among Republican voters.
The AFA survey showed that the race is currently a two-man contest, said Parsons, with all but businessman Vivek Ramaswamy trailing “Others.”