RealClearPolitics’ polling averages of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina surveys show the former president leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley by double digits.
DeSantis and Haley are considered to have the best shot at taking on Trump.
In Iowa, RCP’s polling average shows Trump at 50 percent, while DeSantis is at close to 20 percent and Haley at nearly 16 percent.
In New Hampshire, Trump sits at 44 percent while Haley sits at roughly 19 percent and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 13 percent.
Over in South Carolina, Trump sits at 49 percent, Haley at roughly 20 percent and DeSantis at 11 percent.
Those numbers are particularly troubling for DeSantis, who has staked most of his time in Iowa. Despite having the endorsement of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) and influential Evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, their support has done little to make a dent in Trump’s lead.
But the numbers also underscore challenges for Haley.
The former U.N. ambassador received a key endorsement from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Tuesday.
Though Republicans in the Granite State say he’s popular with independents, who can participate in the GOP primary, his endorsement comes in the final stretch of the 2024 GOP primary season and has raised questions of whether that boost will be enough for Haley to keep the race close with Trump.
The Hill’s Jared Gans digs into Haley’s viability in New Hampshire here.
It’s also particularly noteworthy that Haley trails Trump in her home state of South Carolina where she served as governor for two terms.
Against the backdrop of Trump’s commanding lead in the polls, the former president has received backlash for some of his recent comments at town halls and rallies, including suggesting he wouldn’t behave as a dictator if he was reelected “other than day one.”
But as The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports on Wednesday, Republicans have largely shrugged off those remarks while others, like fierce Trump critic former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have pointed to them with alarm.
“The idea that Trump is going to be radically different than what he was four years ago is just preposterous,” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who cleared his primary to win his Senate seat last cycle thanks in large part to Trump’s endorsement, said an interview with CNN. “He was an effective, successful president. I think he will be an effective, successful president again. That’s why I have endorsed him.”
