A new poll from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) Saint Anselm College Polling Center (SACSC) revealed that GOP primary candidate Nikki Haley currently has 30% support within the party. The figure represents an increase of 15% since the last survey carried out by the center in September.
Neil Levesque, the executive director of the New Hampshire Policy Institute, stated that one of the keys to Haley's rise is having received the endorsement of New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu:
After earning the key endorsement of New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, former Ambassador Nikki Haley has broken away from the pack pursuing former President Donald Trump and become the clear alternative. However, even after cutting Trump’s lead in half, she still trails as his support remains steady in themid-40’s. Trump’s supporters seem undeterred by the former president’s ongoing legal challenges.
SACSC_FITN_1223 by Veronica Silveri on Scribd
Projected winner is still Donald Trump
The survey highlights that "Former President Donald Trump maintains a significant lead. 44% of respondents express their preference for Trump on the ballot test, a 14-point lead over his closest challenger, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley."
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie continues to rise in the polls, currently sitting at 12% support. Support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the poll noted, has "all but disappeared," earning just 6% in the poll.
Trump vs. Biden in New Hampshire
The poll shows that Trump leads President Joe Biden by 10 percentage points in a "hypothetical general election." However, it indicates that the president has 90% of Democrats on his side and that "Trump is weakened by carrying only 78% of Republicans." Levesque stated regarding this matter:
Biden enjoys a unied party, while the Republicans are fractured. In a hypothetical three-way contest between the incumbent, Trump, and independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 92% of Democratic primary voters indicate they would vote for Biden in the general election, while only 62% of Republican primary voters indicate they would vote for Trump.
