Republican primary voters in the Granite State are shaking things up.
Our exclusive 7NEWS/Emerson College poll shows 49% of Republican voters in New Hampshire still favor former President Donald Trump.
But former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has surged to second with 18%. She is followed by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with 9%.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has dropped to 7% and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is polling at 5%.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson got less than 1%.
“For the last year, we’ve been looking at a Ron DeSantis – Donald Trump race and now it looks like Nikki Haley is the alternative instead of Ron DeSantis at this point,” said 7NEWS/Emerson College pollster Spencer Kimball.
“About a year ago, Ron DeSantis was about 17%,” Kimball said. Now he’s down to 7%. And when we look at a candidate like Nikki Haley, since August she’s gone from 4% up to 18%.”
New Hampshire voters, in general, also seem to prefer Haley over President Joe Biden. In a hypothetical presidential matchup, Haley beats Biden 45% to 39%.
“Where she’s strong is with the independent vote,” Kimball said. “So, while Trump is very strong with Republican voters, Haley is actually competing very closely in the primary with the independent vote.”
Haley is the only Republican in our poll to beat Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head, including Trump.
Forty-seven percent of New Hampshire voters said they would vote for Biden in a repeat of the 2020 matchup, with 42% picking Trump.
“We have Nikki Haley and she’s actually beating Biden,” Kimball said. “But what we’re really looking at is, ‘Is there potential in the future for more votes for Nikki Haley?’ And there is.”
Then, there is the wild card — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Our poll shows RFK Jr. surging since dropping out of the Democratic primary last month to run as an independent.
The support for Biden and Trump changes in a general race that includes independents RFK Jr. and former Harvard professor Cornel West.
We found Biden’s lead among New Hampshire voters shrinks from 47% to 40%. Trump’s support drops from 42% to 37%. RFK Jr. pulls in 8% of New Hampshire voters. Cornel West grabs 1%.
“With RFK, what we see is he’s getting his vote from both candidates,” Kimball said. “An equal 6% come from Biden and 6% come from Trump. On the flip side, Cornel West is taking slightly more vote from Biden. So, when you add some of these third party candidates, it’s more of a negative for Biden at this time.”
If you’re thinking Trump’s legal trouble could shake up the Republican primary in New Hampshire, think again.
Our poll found, of the GOP voters who support Trump, right now 80% say a criminal conviction won’t change their mind. Only 5% said it would.
To read the entire poll, click here.
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