Donald Trump handily tops Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire: Poll
Ryan King
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Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead over his top 2024 GOP rival Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in New Hampshire, according to a new poll.
Republican voters in the Granite State favored Trump for the GOP nod by 42%, with DeSantis clinching 29%, in a recent St. Anselm College Survey Center poll. DeSantis, who is set to make his New Hampshire debut later this month, is the only Republican close to striking distance of Trump, though he has yet to announce a 2024 bid of his own.
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Other GOP hopefuls trailed the two heavyweights, with Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) claiming 14% support, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at 4%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 3%, and former Rep. Liz Cheney at 2%, per the poll.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) each nabbed 1% support. Meanwhile, 2% favored a candidate not listed in the survey.
The poll was taken between March 28 to 30 among 1,320 voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7%. Notably, Trump’s indictment was announced on March 30 and has been attributed to a boost for him in polls taken shortly thereafter.
Trump has maintained his lead in GOP primary polling so far, beating his peers in the field by double digits. But a handful of early state polling has given mixed results about Trump’s strength over DeSantis in early primary states.
For instance, a recent batch of polls from Public Opinion Strategies found DeSantis tying Trump in New Hampshire and besting him in Iowa in head-to-head matchups. Trump’s strength surged, however, when additional GOP candidates were added to the mix.
So far, the four major declared GOP hopefuls include Trump, Haley, Ramaswamy, and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), who announced his candidacy over the weekend. DeSantis is not expected to announce his 2024 plans until the Florida legislature concludes its work in May.
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DeSantis is set to travel to New Hampshire to headline the Amos Tuck Dinner on April 14 in Manchester. He is also expected to travel to Israel, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Utah, and Texas over the coming weeks.
New Hampshire is the second state on the 2024 GOP calendar and the first primary election to take place.