Former President Donald Trump opened a significant lead over his Republican challengers in New Hampshire, according to a new poll. The Granite State represents one of the first contests in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, and Trump’s early showing could spell bad news for his competitors.
According to a new Saint Anselm College poll, Trump holds 47% of potential GOP voters in the state. This represents a 5% increase since the college’s last poll in March.
Furthermore, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) holds 19%, which is a decline from March’s 29%.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is in third place, holding 6% support.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) received 5% support and is the only other candidate above that threshold.
Trump’s former running mate, Vice President Mike Pence was named by 2% of primary voters.
New Hampshire 2024: Trump holds 28-point lead for Republican Nomination
Trump 47% (+5 from March)
DeSantis 19% (-10)
Christie 6% (+5)
Haley 5% (+1)
Scott 4% (+3)
Ramaswamy 2% (-1)
Pence 2%
Hutchinson 2%
Burgum 2% @SaintAnselmPoll | June 21-23 | RVshttps://t.co/G0YO9hlM65 pic.twitter.com/vR7jeUqt9D— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 27, 2023
Both Trump and DeSantis campaigned in the state this week. On Tuesday, DeSantis held a town hall campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire. Trump spoke at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women’s Lilac Luncheon in Concord.
During the luncheon, Trump criticized DeSantis.
“You can’t drain the swamp if you’re part of the swamp and Joe Biden and other opponents, many of them are owned, controlled, they’re bought 100%,” he said.
The former president said that donors are pouring “hundreds of millions” into other campaigns to stop him.
Trump also referenced a large lead in another recent poll, asking when DeSantis “go to second place.”
The former president said that “nobody showed up” to DeSantis’ event in the state.
“This is the final battle,” the president said during the event. “With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State, we will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the Communists, Marxists and Fascists.”
“We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country,” he continued, “We will rout the fake news media. We will defeat Joe Biden, and we will Drain the Swamp once and for all.”
