Former President Donald Trump holds a double-digit lead among declared candidates and other potential challengers in the New Hampshire Republican primary field, according to a National Research Inc. poll.
The poll, which the Center for American Greatness commissioned, found that 39 percent of likely primary voters in the Granite State support Trump in his bid for the nomination. He sits 19 points ahead of his closest potential competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), at 20 percent.
Interestingly, Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) is hot on DeSantis’s trail, with 17 percent of support. DeSantis has comfortably held the second-place position in virtually every national poll and many state polls, though his support has been sliding for months. Sununu told reporters on Wednesday, “He is ‘shockingly surprised’ at how easy it would be for him to raise money if he chooses to run for president,” as InDepth New Hampshire’s Paula Tracy reported.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has made a strong presence in New Hampshire since launching his campaign in February, performs second best among declared candidates with six percent of support. Another three percent of respondents back Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), while former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), former Vice President Mike Pence, and Sen. Tim Scott (r-SC) each hold one percent of support.
Moreover, the poll asked voters who they prefer regarding three “perceptual attributes” about “the economy, the battle against far-left progressive ideology, and compassion.” More than half of respondents, 54 percent, say Trump is best poised to handle the economy, while 13 percent believe DeSantis is.
Similarly, 40 percent of respondents identify Trump as the “[s]strongest” candidate to take on the radical left, versus 21 percent who say DeSantis. Finally, when asked to choose which candidate “Cares About Needs and Concerns of People Like Me,” 34 percent selected Trump, more than double the 17 percent who said DeSantis. Results of “perceptual attributes” for other candidates or potential candidates were not listed in National Research’s memo.
National Research Inc. sampled 500 likely GOP primary voters between May 15-17. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.38 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.
