Right-wing fanatic Ron DeSantis is beating Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the race to be US president, according to one early election poll.
The poll shows the majority of Republican voters want the Florida Governor to run over Trump despite the former-President's announcement he will run for a third time in 2024.
Following the disastrous results for the Republicans in last month's midterms, Trump has fallen behind Biden in the USA Today/Suffolk University but DeSantis is ahead of the incumbent President by four points.
DeSantis has not announced his intention to run and Trump has previously warned him against running.
In November Trump told US network Fox News: "I don't know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly.
"I don't think it would be good for the party."
Trump also threatened to reveal "things about him that won't be very flattering - I know more about him than anybody - other than, perhaps, his wife".
DeSantis won a double-digit landslide victory in the 2022 midterm elections, a step up from narrowly defeating Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018.
Tuesday's poll suggests 65 per cent of GOP and right-leaning voters want DeSantis to run for president, while less than a quarter said the opposite.
Trump on the other hand had 47 per cent of these voters wanting him to run. Around 45 per cent said they don't want him to run.
DeSantis has been a rising star in the Republican party throughout the Biden administration, leading the charge on attention grabbing culture war issues.
His anti-LGBTQ legislation dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' laws hinder the discussion of LGBTQ issues in Florida schools.
DeSantis also sent a plane full of migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard in a stunt highlighting the continued migration at the US' southern border.
The Human Rights Campaign has given DeSantis a "0" rating for his voting record on LGBT-related issues and legislation.
He has also been outspoken in his opposition of abortion and critical of Planned Parenthood.
Describing the Florida Governor's popularity, political analyst Frank Luntz told the Mirror: "The party faithful like governors, love conservatives, and hate covid restrictions. He checks all three boxes."
Republican lawmakers appear to be tiring of Trump's antics with recent comments appearing to support the "termination" of the Constitution being widely condemned.
Accusing "Big Tech" social media companies of being in cahoots with Democrats, Trump said: "Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?
"A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution."
The former-President also was slammed for meeting with Kanye West and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Several senior GOP members have publicly questioned his grip on the party after a less-than-welcoming return for the Republicans in key Midterm elections.
The GOP managed to win a majority in the House of Representatives, but the Democrats had their Senate majority confirmed earlier his week.
Despite the lukewarm reception to the GOP across America, DeSantis' victory and the party's performance in Florida were far more comfortable.
