DeSantis opens up early lead over Trump in UNH poll
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Jan. 26—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken an early lead over former President Donald Trump among likely Republican presidential primary voters in New Hampshire, according to a new independent poll Thursday.
As Trump prepares to travel to the state to speak at the Republican party's annual meeting on Saturday, he trails DeSantis 42% to 30% in the latest poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
In a UNH poll in June, DeSantis (39%) and Trump (37%) were virtually tied, after the poll's margin of error was factored in.
In the latest poll, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was third with 8%.
Gov. Chris Sununu had 4% support, tying him for for fourth place with former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem polled 2%, and former Vice President Mike Pence had 1%.
Sununu fared much better when likely voters made a second choice. DeSantis scored 30% as a second choice, Sununu had 19%, and Trump received 14%.
"It should be noted that primary campaigns are very volatile and leading a year before the primary does not guarantee a win in New Hampshire," the UNH Survey Center said in a statement.
This was the first UNH poll released since Sununu said he was considering a White House run in 2024.
Sununu said he would not make any decision until this summer, at the earliest.
The poll listed 13 potential Republican candidates. Trump is the only declared candidate among those listed in the survey.
This is the first New Hampshire poll since Trump formally announced he would run again in 2024.
Among likely GOP primary voters, 50% said Trump should not run, and 46% said he should. That's down from last June, when 56% of likely GOP voters said they wanted Trump to run.
As for a Sununu run for president, 52% of GOP primary voters surveyed think he should, 42% think he should not, and 6% were undecided.
Among all voters surveyed — including Democrats and left-leaning independents — 31% said Sununu should run and 59% said he should not. The other 10% were undecided.
Former Republican State Committee Executive Director Fergus Cullen said the 2024 race is slow to get started.
"A year out from the primary hardly any GOP candidates have been here, let alone are building organizations," Cullen said, reacting to the poll on social media.
"The guy leading this poll has not set foot in NH. Biden's trying to avoid campaigning at all in NH. The FITN primary as we've known it may already be a thing of history," Cullen wrote.
This latest poll was of 349 likely GOP primary voters from Jan. 19-23. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3%.
