The latest New Hampshire poll shows Florida governor Ron DeSantis now standing in fifth place in the Granite State’s GOP primary, as former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley continues to gain traction in the 2024 presidential race.
Ahead of DeSantis but still far behind former president Donald Trump, Haley rises to second place with 18 percent of support among New Hampshire Republican primary voters, Friday’s Washington Post/Monmouth University poll found. According to the survey, Trump sits comfortably at 46 percent while DeSantis, in comparison, trails at 7 percent behind former New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s 11 percent and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s 8 percent.
“Anyone still talking about DeSantis as the stalking horse is not keeping up with the race,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said.
DeSantis’s poor performance in the New England state can be partly attributed to his campaigning in Iowa, which will kick off the GOP nomination process on January 15. Despite his recent focus on the state’s caucuses and Iowa governor Kim Reynolds’s endorsement of him for president, DeSantis’s effort hasn’t proven to be a winning strategy in the 2024 race. DeSantis still remains behind Haley by a considerable amount in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
On the other hand, Haley is tracking relatively well among Republican voters, in part, due to her strong debate performances. With each new GOP debate, the former United Nations ambassador has made double-digit gains in support since August. In a separate poll released this week, Haley also stands in second place while DeSantis is in fourth.
New Hampshire is crucial for candidates, considering it traditionally holds the first presidential primary of each election cycle. On Wednesday, it was announced New Hampshire would hold its first-in-the-nation primary status, bucking President Joe Biden’s and the Democratic Party’s plan to elevate South Carolina as the nation’s first primary state. The New Hampshire GOP primary will be held on January 23.
The newest poll, conducted from November 9-14 among 841 Republican or undeclared voters in New Hampshire, has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.