The first Alaska straw poll for the presidential election of 2024 was conducted this week by Must Read Alaska in the MRAK newsletter that reaches over 35,000 Alaskans three times a week.
Of the 907 readers who participated in the Monday straw poll, 49% chose Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. Coming in second was former President Donald Trump at 36%, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 12%, and President Joe Biden at 4%.
The Must Read Alaska newsletter subscribers trend conservative, and the poll is not scientific. A straw poll is an unofficial vote taken to test the relative strength of candidates or issues but is very different from a traditional poll.
Although this poll was conducted Feb. 20-22, nearly a year before the first Republican primaries in New Hampshire and Republican caucus in Iowa, it is the first indication among conservatives in Alaska that DeSantis has a strong following in the 49th state, and that Trump’s star has, perhaps, faded. Trump won Alaska with nearly 53% of the general election vote in 2020, with Biden capturing nearly 43% of the general election vote.
This poll was conducted before Republican entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy announced his candidacy on Tuesday.
How does the Must Read Alaska straw poll compare to more scientifically conducted polls around the nation?
According to a Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll, Trump leads among registered Republicans in America, when the question was asked in the Feb. 6-13 poll. 43% of responding Republicans picked Trump, 31% picked DeSantis, and 4% picked Haley. Biden was not included in the poll of Republicans, which surveyed 1,465 registered Republicans, part of a larger sample of more than 4,000 adults nationwide. The poll’s credibility interval, a measure of precision, was about 3% for registered Republicans, according to Reuters.
In addition to the four names polled by Must Read Alaska, and Ramaswamy, who just announced his candidacy, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is considering a run, as are former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.
Must Read Alaska thanks Dittman Research for partnering on Question of the Week and thanks those who took part in the straw poll. Check the Monday Must Read Alaska newsletter for the next big Question of the Week for Alaskans. Note that no one can see how you vote in a Must Read Alaska Question of the Week.
