The Hill predicts DeSantis will beat Trump for nomination

The Hill predicted Sunday that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will secure the 2024 GOP presidential nomination with former President Donald Trump as the runner-up contender.

DeSantis was picked as the top candidate for his double-digit reelection during the midterms and what The Hill calls "his embrace of culture war issues and his opposition to COVID-19–related lockdowns." 

Explaining why Trump was ranked as the second most likely 2024 nominee, the outlet said: "Trump would have been the runaway favorite had these rankings been drawn up the day before the midterm elections. Since then, virtually everything the president has touched has turned bad." 

Trump's controversial dinner with the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes, along with what it called a "lackluster" campaign launch are reasons why The Hill predicts the former president may not be the nominee again.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is considered the third-most likely person to be the 2024 presidential nominee, according to The Hill.

Trump and DeSantis have both been considered top contenders in multiple polls, although DeSantis has not launched a formal presidential campaign.

December's Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll showed that nearly twice as many GOP voters would support Trump over DeSantis in the primary. However, a USA Today-Suffolk University poll released days earlier showed 56% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters supported DeSantis compared to 33% who supported Trump.