DeSantis Builds Lead over Trump in Latest New Hampshire Poll John McCormack In the first independent poll of the Granite State since the midterms, the Florida governor’s support grew while the former president’s declined.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/desantis-builds-lead-over-trump-in-latest-new-hampshire-poll/?utm_

In the first independent poll of the Granite State since the midterms, the Florida governor’s support grew while the former president’s declined.

With twelve months to go until New Hampshire’s 2024 Republican presidential primary, Florida governor Ron DeSantis leads Donald Trump by twelve points — 42 percent to 30 percent — in a new Granite State poll.

The survey, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center from January 19 to 23 and released on Thursday, is the first independent poll of the first-in-the-nation 2024 Republican Party primary conducted since the 2022 midterm elections, in which DeSantis scored a resounding 19-point reelection victory in Florida while Trump-backed Senate candidates underperformed and cost the Republican Party control of the upper chamber.

The new poll shows DeSantis’ vote share improving by three points since the University of New Hampshire last conducted a survey in the summer of 2022, while Trump’s vote share dropped seven points from 37 percent to 30 percent. Trump’s vote share has declined in each of the four polls conducted by the pollster since June of 2021.

Not only is DeSantis leading in the early poll, he also appears to have the most room to grow his support. “When asked for their second choice, 30% of likely Republican primary voters support DeSantis, 19% support Sununu, 14% support Trump, 7% support Texas Senator Ted Cruz, 6% support former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and 5% support Haley,” reports the UNH Survey Center.