Campaign

Trump holds 13-point lead over DeSantis in New Hampshire: poll

by Julia Shapero - 04/04/23 9:01 AM ET

AP Photos/File
This combination of photos shows former President Donald Trump, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose allies are gaining confidence in his White House prospects as Trump’s legal woes mount. But some Republican officials and MAGA influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for national stage.

Former President Trump holds a 13-point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) among New Hampshire voters, according to a new poll released on Monday.

Trump is leading the pack of current and potential Republican candidates in the key primary state, with 42 percent of voters saying they would support the former president in the GOP primary, according to the poll from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

DeSantis, who has yet to officially announce his candidacy, sits the closest to Trump, with 29 percent of Granite State voters saying they would back the Florida governor.

Another 14 percent said they would support New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who is also considering a 2024 bid for the White House, while 4 percent said they would back former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and 3 percent said they would support conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Haley and Ramaswamy are the only major Republican candidates other than Trump to have officially announced their 2024 campaigns thus far.

The polling comes as Trump is set to appear in court on Tuesday to be arraigned on criminal charges for his role in a 2016 hush money payment to an adult film star.

The poll was conducted by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics March 28-30 with 1,320 registered New Hampshire voters and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.