Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has fallen to the single digits in New Hampshire — one of the three states his campaign is primarily focusing on — the latest NHJournal/co-efficient poll found.
The survey asked Republican primary voters, “If the 2024 Republican primary election for President of the United States was held today, who would you vote for between these candidates,” listing most of the GOP presidential candidates.
Former President Donald Trump remains the top dog in the Granite State, garnering 43 percent of the vote in the field. No other candidate comes remotely close or breaks double digits. Both DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tie for second place with nine percent support each. This is significant, as it shows that DeSantis — despite his campaign’s latest efforts — is failing to resonate with Republican voters in New Hampshire, despite devoting significant time and resources to that state.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley comes in just two points behind with seven percent support, followed by South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (five percent), anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (five percent), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (four percent), and former Vice President Mike Pence (three percent). Another 13 percent remain undecided, and three percent say, “somebody else.”
The survey also found intense loyalty to Trump from likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters, as most, 62 percent, say they would vote for him even if he were convicted of a felony, and 57 percent say they would vote for him even if he were “serving time in prison” on the day of the election.
The survey was taken August 5-7, 2023, among 862 likely Republican primary voters and has a +/- 3.33 percent margin of error. It comes one month after a leaked confidential memo in which the DeSantis campaign attempted to reassure concerned donors, laying out its strategy to revamp the campaign and boost the governor’s standing in the polls. One of the key takeaways in the memo was the campaign’s plan to focus primarily on Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire.
The memo stated in part:
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.
Since then, the DeSantis campaign has laid off dozens of staff members and, most recently, replaced campaign manager Generra Peck with James Uthmeier as the governor continues to struggle in the polls.
“He’s crashing badly,” Trump said of DeSantis during an interview with Breitbart News’s Matthew Boyle.
“He’s got no personality,” Trump said. “He just has no personality.”
Exclusive — Trump on DeSantis: “He’s Crashing Badly,” Will Be “Superseded” in Second Place
Matthew Perdie / Breitbart News, Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News