A straw poll conducted by the Young Republicans organization delivered some surprising results that buck national polling for the preferred 2024 GOP presidential contender.

According to a post on the X platform, respondents to the YR straw poll preferred Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by a slight margin over former President Donald Trump, 36.6 percent to 35.4 percent, respectively.

“Straw Poll Results Are In! YRs across the country participated in a straw poll at YRNC Dallas. And it’s clear that YRs are divided between two contenders,” the post says, which includes a graphic of the polling breakdown.

Straw Poll Results Are In! 🗳️ YRs across the country participated in a straw poll at YRNC Dallas. And it’s clear that YRs are divided between two contenders. Ron DeSantis comes in with 36.6% of the support, closely followed by Donald Trump at 35.4%.
 #republicanprimary pic.twitter.com/youyF3Uggg

— Young Republicans (@yrnational) August 31, 2023

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According to the results, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the youngest of all GOP candidates, polled a respectable 9.1 percent, given this is his first bid for office, while former South Carolina governor and Trump UN Ambassador Nikki Haley received 7.5 percent, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott pulled 5.5 percent support.

Young conservatives have been divided over Trump and DeSantis since at least last year. The Associated Press reported in July 2022 following a meeting of younger conservatives in Tampa, Fla.:

When former President Donald Trump took the stage before a crowd of more than 5,000 young conservative activists in Tampa this weekend, he received the rock star’s welcome he’s grown accustomed to over the seven years in which he’s reshaped the Republican Party.

One night earlier, it was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who had the crowd on its feet as he headlined the day’s program at Turning Point USA’s annual Student Action Summit.

“To be honest, it’s like choosing between your favorite child,” said Leo Milik, 19, who lives in Barrington, Illinois, when asked whom he’d like to see as the party’s next nominee.

Wearing a “Trump was Right” baseball cap, Milik said both GOP figures “have their pros, they have their cons.”

During his speech, DeSantis welcomed the crowd to the “free state of Florida” and highlighted many of his conservative policies, especially those implemented during the then-recent COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve accomplished an awful lot in the state of Florida. But we have only begun to fight,” he said. “Because we are on a mission to keep the state of Florida free and to save our great country.”

Nationally, however, Trump has been leading in nearly every poll, even pulling ahead of President Joe Biden in the most recent surveys.

Trump is now leading Biden, in fact, in four national polls despite the fact that he’s now been indicted four times and he chose to skip the first Republican presidential primary debate moderated by Fox News last week in Milwaukee, Wis.

“The country’s frustration with inflation and wariness toward the idea of Vice President Kamala Harris being an 80-year-old’s heartbeat from the presidency are two of the many drags on President Biden’s reelection chances,” Democratic pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman wrote in a Monday column published online by The Hill.

And though there are a myriad of problems and issues creating political headwinds for the octogenarian president, the economy is the number one concern among a majority of voters and, specifically, their own personal economic situations.

The latest poll from Schoen Cooperman Research showed Trump with 45 percent to Biden’s 44 percent in a hypothetical rematch.

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“These results are mirrored in three other major national surveys, including one from Emerson College Polling that showed Trump (46 percent) beating Biden (44 percent) in a hypothetical matchup,” The Western Journal reported.

The latest McLaughlin & Associates poll has Trump well ahead of Biden, 47 to 43 percent. And the most recent Reuters/Ipsos survey found Trump beating Biden 38 percent to 32 percent if the election were held this week.

The poor showing for Biden comes as more Americans are being abused by higher prices for everything they need, including food, gasoline, clothing, and housing/rent, rising crime, and a porous southwestern border that has led to a record number of migrants crossing illegally, with tens of thousands being shipped to blue cities from the border.