Trump loses ground to competitors in New Hampshire RNC debate-qualifying poll

Former President Donald Trump’s Republican competitors may be starting to chip away at his lead, as evidenced by a new poll of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire.

Trump’s advantage over rival Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) slipped to just 14 percentage points, according to the University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll.

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Granite State Republicans still preferred the former president by a plurality of 37%. DeSantis posted 23%, maintaining his second-place stature. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) made an increase, with 8%, putting him in third place.

In a similar survey by UNH Survey Center in April, prior to the announcements of DeSantis and Scott, Trump boasted 42%. DeSantis was supported by 22%, and Scott garnered only 2%.

Scott’s 6-point jump stands in stark contrast to Trump’s 5-point slide in the state.

Roughly a third of New Hampshire Republicans reported they have decided on who they’re supporting in the state’s primary.

Fellow presidential candidates former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy polled at 6%, 6%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. Former Vice President Mike Pence garnered just 1%.

The poll was conducted via an online survey given to 2,028 respondents, which included 898 likely Republican primary voters. Data were collected between July 13 and 17. It noted the response rate was 25% and that the margin of error for likely Republican voters was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

The new survey meets the criteria laid out by the Republican National Committee for candidates to submit to qualify for the August primary debate.

There have been three debate-qualifying polls published thus far, two national surveys from Morning Consult and UNH Survey Center’s new poll of the Granite State.

The RNC debate will take place on Aug. 23, and candidates must meet all requirements 48 hours in advance. Other than its polling qualifications, the RNC also requires that candidates meet certain fundraising standards, such as having 40,000 unique donors.

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The most controversial requirement is a pledge that candidates must sign stating they will support the eventual GOP nominee for president. Several candidates have met this requirement with skepticism, but most have said they will sign it.

Trump’s plans to attend the debate are still unknown.