Vanderbilt University conducted a poll across the state of Tennessee, asking Republican voters their opinions on several topics ranging from abortion rights to presidential candidates. The results indicated that DeSantis is leading as the “party’s presidential nominee in 2024 by double digits,” according to the university’s press release on the poll results.

“The survey of 1,180 registered Tennessee voters was conducted between Nov. 8 and Nov. 28, with a margin of error of ± 3.4 percentage points,” the news release stated.

John Greer, a poll co-director said, “Trump’s support has waned, but there’s still a clear path for Trump to win the nomination,” adding, “The differences between MAGA Republicans and non-MAGA Republicans also pose a problem for Republicans as they try to govern over the next two years.”

Josh Clinton, professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, also said in the news release that the polls reflect a change in priorities for voters.

“I do think that this particular poll, unlike a lot of previous polls, speaks to some problems that are going on nationally,” Clinton said. “Our results show that the Republican Party is clearly divided, and Republicans are trying to figure out who they are, and which issues they want to prioritize. We saw hints of this in the debates over the issue of abortion in various states and by comparing how well Republican statewide candidates did depending on how MAGA they were.

“Our poll reveals just how stark some of these differerences are,” Clinton added. “While this is not as much of an issue in Tennessee, where the Republican party is extremely strong, the splits we find in Tennessee Republicans have important implications for how Republicans react nationally and in other states as they look forward to running the House of Representatives and trying to take back the White House in 2024.”