Exclusive poll: Nikki Haley surges, nearly ties Ron DeSantis as the alternative to Trump

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley has surged nationally in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, challenging a faltering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the top alternative to Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.

Haley's support has risen to 11% of registered voters who plan to vote in GOP primaries or caucuses, up from 4% in the USA TODAY/Suffolk poll taken in June and just 1 percentage point below DeSantis. His 12% standing was a steep fall from his 23% support four months ago.

Trump continues to dominate the field, backed by 58%, up 10 points.

The survey of 309 Republican and Republican-leaning voters, taken Tuesday through Friday by landline and cellphone, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.

Haley already has edged narrowly ahead of DeSantis In New Hampshire and South Carolina, which hold early contests on the primary calendar.

The two contenders have been targeting each other, sparring in public over Mideast policy and competing in private with appeals to major Republican donors.

Last week, the Florida governor suggested Haley as president would admit to the United States refugees from war-torn Gaza, and a political action committee allied with DeSantis bought ads making the allegation. Haley said she didn't support the idea and accused DeSantis of distorting her previous remarks.

Tarek Ellaicy, 35, of Dunlap, Illinois, a Republican who was called in the poll, said she was leaning toward Haley. "She has experience; she's moderate; she's in the middle," she said in a follow-up interview. "At the end of the day, she could bring the country together."

None of the other Republican candidates scored higher than 3% in the new poll, all of them losing modest ground since June. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy were at 3%. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and talk show host Larry Elder were at 1%.

In the poll, Haley did better among men than women, and she showed particular strength in the Midwest and the Northeast. She drew more support than DeSantis among college graduates and among political independents. He was stronger among Republicans.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haley surges, catches DeSantis as Trump alternative: Exclusive poll