Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in fourth place in the early primary state of New Hampshire and inching close to fifth, the latest Trafalgar Group survey found.
They survey asked Republican primary voters — those who said they were either “very likely” or “likely” to vote — who they would support in the GOP primary if it were held today.
Former President Donald Trump leads the pack with 45.1 percent support, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who came in 27 points behind with 18.1 percent support. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in third place with 13.8 percent support. DeSantis fell to fourth place with 11.2 percent, but anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy came in a very close fifth place, just one point behind DeSantis with 10.2 percent, well within the survey’s +/- 2.9 percent margin of error.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is planning on staying in the race until Super Tuesday in March despite receiving zero percent support in several state-level and national surveys, sees just .4 percent support. Another 1.2 percent remain undecided:
New @trafalgar_group #NH #GOP Primary #poll (12/9-12/11)
— Robert C. Cahaly (@RobertCahaly) December 12, 2023
45.1% @realDonaldTrump
18.1% @NikkiHaley
13.8% @ChrisChristie
11.2% @rondesantis
10.2% @VivekGRamaswamy
0.4% @AsaHutchinson
1.2% Und
Full report: https://t.co/0jTbzsWDdy pic.twitter.com/S4AXu8Ipcy
The survey was taken December 9-11, 2023, among 1,098 likely GOP presidential primary voters in the Granite State. It has a +/- 2.9 percent margin of error. It comes months after a confidential DeSantis memo leaked, in which the DeSantis campaign assured donors that it was focusing on early primary states, including New Hampshire, as the presidential hopeful continued to falter in the polls.
At the time, the memo read in part [emphasis added]:
Ron DeSantis is running a campaign to win everywhere. It would be a mistake to take a paid media and field program off the table in service of other states, we will not cede New Hampshire. From what we can tell, pro-DeSantis efforts are currently and will continue to run a robust effort in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, that includes paid media and field.
While Super Tuesday is critically important, we will not dedicate resources to Super Tuesday that slow our momentum in New Hampshire. We expect to revisit this investment in the Fall.
However the strategy has not worked, as DeSantis continues to flounder, failing to gain any ground whatsoever in key states like New Hampshire.
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Thursday’s RealClearPolitics (RCP) average showed DeSantis in fourth place in New Hampshire with 9 percent support and Ramaswamy just .3 percent behind with 8.7 percent.
