Trump leads Haley by double digits in New Hampshire, poll shows

Donald Trump leads his final challenger for the GOP presidential nomination Nikki Haley by double digits in New Hampshire ahead of the state’s primaries, a recent poll has shown.

The former president garnered 52 per cent to his former UN ambassador’s 34 per cent, according to polling by The Washington Post and Monmouth University.

The survey was finished before Florida Governor Ron DeSantis exited the race on Sunday – the governor received eight per cent in the poll.

Back in November, Ms Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, was at 18 per cent, she has since almost doubled her level of support, possibly improving her numbers due to the exit of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

During that same time, Mr Trump’s backing has grown by six points, possibly benefitting from the dropping out and subsequent endorsement of anti-woke author, biotech entrepreneur, and conspiracy theorist Vivek Ramaswamy.

Following Mr DeSantis’s departure, Mr Trump may benefit from the backing of the governor’s supporters. Mr DeSantis immediately endorsed Mr Trump after announcing he was leaving the race.

Looking at the second choices of DeSantis supporters, Mr Trump appears likely to gain four points and Ms Haley two points, The Post noted.

Mr Trump remains strong because of the fervent backing from the conservative base of the party, while Ms Haley has gained the support of moderates and independents planning on taking part in the Republican primary.

Independents and unaffiliated voters can take part in the GOP primary in New Hampshire, meaning that the state may be one of Ms Haley’s best opportunities to make a dent in Mr Trump’s momentum as the former president appears likely to steamroll to the nomination for the third election cycle in a row.

As it stands, it seems improbable that Ms Haley will be able to stop him, with Mr Trump’s supporters seeming more motivated to head to the polls.

When it comes to all possible voters, Mr Trump leads Ms Haley by 18 points, but among those who say they are “extremely motivated” to vote, his lead expands to 28 points.

In 2016, Mr Trump won what was then a six-person race in New Hampshire with 35 per cent of the vote.

For Ms Haley, her favourability ratings with likely Republican primary voters have declined since November from 56 to 46 per cent who now see her in a favourable light. Her unfavourability rating has gone from 31 to 40 per cent during that same time in the face of attacks from the Trump campaign.

Fifty-nine per cent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters see Mr Trump favourably, and 36 per cent see him unfavourably.

The poll found that 47 per cent of possible GOP primary voters aren’t registered Republicans – a group which backs Ms Haley over Mr Trump by 48 to 38 per cent. But among registered Republicans, Mr Trump leads by 64 to 22 per cent.

The survey was conducted between 16 and 20 January and included 712 potential voters.