Washington: Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is favoured by the majority of Republicans in the state of California to represent the party in the 2024 presidential election. Former President Donald Trump is a distant second.

In a year, the Republican presidential primary will choose who will run for president, and as some media outlets have noted, GOP voters from the Golden State could be crucial to that decision.

1,755 registered Republicans in California were questioned for the survey, which was conducted online by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) between February 14 and February 20.

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DeSantis received 37% of the respondents' support, while Trump received 29%. According to the survey, the support of the other Republican candidates, such as former US Envoy to the UN Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence, was only expected to reach 7% of GOP voters in California.

DeSantis leads Trump by more than two to one among Republican voters in the state with a college degree. DeSantis is also ahead by 11 points among the subgroup of Trump supporters in the 2020 election.

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There has been a significant exodus from his party, IGS Poll director Mark DiCamillo said, adding that "these voters now support DeSantis more than Trump."

The Florida governor is scheduled to speak in California on March 5 at a fundraiser for the Orange County GOP and at the Reagan Library Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

According to sources familiar with DeSantis' plans, the politician will meet with influential Republican donors, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The California GOP presidential primary, scheduled for March 2024, could be crucial in determining who receives the party's nomination, the newspaper claims. The largest delegation at the 2024 Republican National Convention is anticipated to come from the Golden State.

The Times also noted that many wealthy donors reside in California. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the state gave more than $92 million to Trump's campaign in 2020.

Similar findings from a poll earlier this month by Yahoo/YouGov suggested that Trump has only a slim chance of defeating DeSantis, who is four percentage points ahead.

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According to surveys, Trump has lost a sizable portion of his base of support since the congressional midterm elections in November, in which candidates backed by the outgoing president performed worse than predicted.