New Hampshire Republican Primary: Trump Holds Commanding Lead Over Haley and DeSantis
3 min read
The New Hampshire Republican Primary, the second contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar after the Iowa Caucuses, is fast approaching. According to the latest polls, former President Donald Trump remains the commanding frontrunner, with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley seemingly cutting into his lead, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a distant third.
The Suffolk University, Boston Globe, and NBC10 in Boston daily tracking poll, released on January 18, 2024, indicates that Trump holds 50% support among those likely to vote in the New Hampshire Republican Primary. This figure is unchanged from the previous day’s poll. Haley, who served as Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, stands at 36%, with her support edging up two points since the previous day. DeSantis, who was once the clear runner-up to Trump in most polling, pulled in 6% support, up a point over the past 24 hours. Four percent of respondents were undecided, with 1% saying they would back a different candidate.
The poll was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, after Trump’s massive victory in the Iowa Caucuses on Monday night. Trump won 51% of the votes, with DeSantis a distant second at 21% and Haley in third at 19%. However, New Hampshire has a very different electorate than Iowa. Moderate voters in the Granite State are highly influential, and the state’s independents, who can vote in either major party primary, have long played a crucial role in New Hampshire’s storied presidential contest.
New Hampshire voters are traditionally late deciders, but the new poll indicates that most, 85%, have already decided on who they will support, and they are unlikely to change their minds. The poll also indicates that while Trump holds a massive lead over Haley among self-described conservatives, Haley leads by double digits among those who consider themselves moderate or liberal.
Haley emphasized in a Fox Digital interview on January 17, 2024, that Trump “is the one I want. Trump is the one I’m going for.” She also argued that “you see how close it is with both of us in New Hampshire. Same in South Carolina. We’re going to try to make it closer. That’s the goal. So it’s Trump we’re going after.”
DeSantis, speaking to voters on January 17, 2024, in Hampton, New Hampshire, pointed to the Iowa caucus results and emphasized “I finished second. She [Haley] didn’t, I mean, that’s just the reality, you know. So I don’t know how they’re going to spin that.”
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley last month and is her top surrogate and adviser on the campaign trail in the Granite State, told Fox News Digital on January 18, 2024, that he still thinks “she can win” Tuesday’s primary. However, he emphasized that Haley’s “already exceeded expectations in terms of a one-on-one race” with Trump. He spotlighted that “a strong second is going to be great.”
The Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC 10 survey, which questioned 500 likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, had an overall sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
The latest polling in South Carolina, which holds the first southern primary on February 24, indicates Trump with a large double-digit lead over Haley, with DeSantis a distant third in single digits.
In conclusion, the New Hampshire Republican Primary is fast approaching, and according to the latest polls, former President Donald Trump remains the commanding frontrunner, with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley seemingly cutting into his lead, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a distant third. The polls indicate that most voters have already decided on who they will support, and while Trump holds a massive lead over Haley among self-described conservatives, Haley leads by double digits among those who consider themselves moderate or liberal. The race is heating up, and the candidates are turning up the volume on each other as the GOP presidential slugfest moves to New Hampshire.
