Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley trails former President Donald Trump by 30 points in New Hampshire’s Republican primary race, according to a recent survey by UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion. Trump leads the race with 52 percent support among 450 New Hampshire Republican primary voters surveyed from December 7 to 18, 2023. Haley has shown an increase in popularity, securing second place with 22 percent support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis follows closely behind with ten percent support, while former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has six percent support. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy receives four percent support, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson trails with one percent. The UMass survey indicates that Haley fares worse among women respondents than men, signaling challenges for her campaign.
The survey results come despite the recent endorsement of Haley by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. The survey showed that Sununu’s support has not translated into votes for Haley. However, a separate survey by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center (SACSC) at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) indicated a surge in support for Haley, doubling her numbers since September. Despite this surge, she lags behind Trump by 14 points in the NHIOP survey.
Haley has publicly expressed her belief that the Trump campaign is becoming nervous about her increased popularity in New Hampshire. She pointed to an attack ad from the pro-Trump PAC MAGA Inc. as evidence of their unease.
The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, which did not include the UMass survey at the time of writing, revealed Trump leading Haley in the Granite State by an average of 18.6 percent. These numbers suggest that while Haley’s support is growing, she still faces a significant gap to overcome in the primary race.
Overall, the UMass Lowell survey presents a challenging picture for Haley’s campaign in New Hampshire. Trump’s wide-ranging support across various demographics, coupled with her struggles among women respondents, indicates an uphill battle for her. As the primary race continues, candidates like DeSantis and Christie also prove to be formidable contenders in the crucial early primary state.
