Nikki Haley gaining ground in New Hampshire: poll – The American Bazaar

Indian American presidential candidate Nikki Haley appears to be gaining ground on former President Donald Trump’s steady lead in New Hampshire, doubling her support in the early-voting state since September, according to a new poll.

The survey, published Thursday by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center (SACSC), found Haley garnered 30% of the likely Republican primary vote, just 14 points behind Trump, who showed 44% support.

While the former South Carolina governor has gained momentum in the early primary state since September, her closest rival — Florida Gov Ron DeSantis — dropped 6 points from 11% to 5%.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie saw a slight gain in support, garnering 12% support in December, a 2-point increase from September, pollsters found.

Meanwhile, Indian American biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson remain in the single digits with 6% and 1%, respectively.

The poll’s findings come just over a month away from New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. Gov Chris Sununu (R) formally endorsed Haley earlier this month.

She has seen a surge across several polls in recent weeks, while Trump has maintained a strong lead, even in the wake of four criminal cases, an ongoing civil fraud case and now a ruling in Colorado that would disqualify him from the state’s primary ballot.

Earlier this month, Trump dismissed Haley’s rise in the polls, writing on social media, “Where’s the Nikki Surge?”

“I hear about it from the Fake News Media, but don’t see it in the Polls, or on the Ground,” he said.

The Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll was conducted between Dec 18-19 among 1711 New Hampshire likely voters. It has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

Meanwhile, Haley tied with DeSantis in Quinnipiac University’s newest poll of the Repubulican presidential primary race published Wednesday. It found 67% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters support Trump, while DeSantis and Haley each received 11% support.

Ramaswamy and Christie’s support fell into the single digits, with 4% choosing Ramaswamy and 3% choosing Christie.

The poll marked Trump and Haley’s highest levels of support and DeSantis’s lowest point since Quinnipiac University began the national surveys in February 2023.  In February, DeSantis received 36 percent support, pollsters noted.

Haley has continued to rise in the polls in recent weeks, and in some places — notably New Hampshire — she has surpassed DeSantis’s once-comfortable second-place spot.

“DeSantis continues his yearlong slide. Haley gains momentum. The battle for second place heats up, but it’s unlikely it will send a holiday chill through MAGA world,” Quinnipiac University analyst Tim Malloy wrote in a statement.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted among 1,647 self-identified registered voters nationwide surveyed from Dec 14-18.

The poll included 702 Republican and Republican-leaning voters with a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points and 683 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.

Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus will take place on Jan 15, kicking off the primary season. New Hampshire will later hold their first-in-the-nation primary on Jan 23.