New local polls in New Hampshire clearly show that the next battle in the Republican primary is between two candidates: Donald Trump, who is comfortably ahead, and Nikki Haley, sitting solidly in second place.
Ron DeSantis? At least according to the latest polls, his performance is lagging far behind.
According to a poll published Wednesday by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 in Boston, former President Trump has 50% support among potential voters who will cast their ballots in the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday, January 23.
Meanwhile, the former ambassador to the UN is comfortably in second place with 34% support, a performance much higher than that of Governor DeSantis, who has only 5% of voter support.
Six percent of respondents said they remained undecided, and 3% said they supported another candidate.
The survey was conducted between Monday and Tuesday, just as Trump’s massive victory in the Iowa caucuses unfolded, where the former president won 51% of the vote.
DeSantis came in second with 21% of the vote, and Haley in third place with 19%.
How did Haley gain points after her performance in Iowa?
New Hampshire is an electorally atypical state. In the Granite State, moderate and independent voters are very influential and can tip the balance for one candidate or another, unlike in Iowa, where the base is decisive.
Therefore, although Trump maintains similar support as in Iowa, Haley is increasing her performance noticeably because, unlike DeSantis, the former ambassador is managing to capture the support of moderate Republican voters, independents and also some Democrats, who can vote in the primaries of any party.
For example, the Suffolk University poll states that Trump maintains a massive 61% to 34% lead over Haley among registered Republicans. However, the former ambassador leads Trump among independents by 44% to 38%.
Another local poll from Saint Anselm College showed similar results, with Trump dominating the state with 52% of the vote while Haley followed with 38% of support.
DeSantis, again, appears miles away with only 6% support.
Fun fact: Haley is the Democrats’ super-favorite
The Saint Anselm College poll, which divided voters into various electoral groups, also revealed that Haley has 90% support among Democrats compared to 1% who support Trump and 0% who support DeSantis.
Although it is not a representative group in the Republican primaries, other groups, such as the “very liberal” or “somewhat liberal” also massively support Haley, generating a notable improvement in her performance with respect to Iowa.
Among Republicans, however, Trump very comfortably dominates, 62% to Haley’s 28%, a gap of 34 percentage points that the former governor has not been able to close even by dominating the independent vote by 45 points against Trump (68-23).
Polls show the New Hampshire primary is a battle between two candidates: Trump and Hale... by emmanuel.rondon on Scribd
