Trump Has Commanding Lead in NH; DeSantis Collapses to Fifth Place

Former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead in New Hampshire as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis collapses to fifth place, the latest CNN New Hampshire Primary Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, found.

The survey found Trump leading the GOP primary field in the Granite State with 39 percent support — 26 points ahead of anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who came in second place with 13 percent support.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley followed closely behind with 12 percent support, followed by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 11 percent support.

DeSantis, whose campaign made it clear over the summer that it would continue to focus primarily on the first three states, including New Hampshire, fell to fifth place with just ten percent support.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott followed with six percent support, and former Vice President Mike Pence saw two percent support. All others saw one percent support or less.

2024 New Hampshire GOP Primary

Trump 39% (+2)
Ramaswamy 13% (+8)
Haley 12% (+7)
Christie 11% (+5)
DeSantis 10% (-13)
Scott 6% (-2)
Pence 2% (+1)
Burgum 1% (-5)
Hurd 1% (=)

[Change vs July]@UNHSurveyCenter | 1,006 LV | 9/14-18https://t.co/YXEDlwkpVl pic.twitter.com/6sda0UomL4

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) September 20, 2023

DeSantis’s most recent result reflects a 13 point drop since the survey’s results taken in July, as the DeSantis campaign underwent a revamp, laying off staffers and changing campaign managers as his steep decline accelerated. At the time, the presidential hopeful was seeing 23 percent support in New Hampshire in this survey.

Further, the survey finds DeSantis losing moderate voters significantly:

Regarding the DeSantis numbers, the Florida governor has seen a sharp drop-off among moderates, per the poll, from 26% backing him in July to 6% now. He fell a smaller 8 points among conservatives.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 20, 2023

Additionally, the survey found 69 percent of Trump supporters revealing that they are definitely decided on supporting him, compared to 18 percent of DeSantis supporters who said the same about him.

When asked who has the best chance to win the 2024 presidential general election, most likely GOP primary voters, 51 percent, said Trump has the best chance. Only 16 percent said the same of DeSantis.

RELATED — Trump on DeSantis: ‘He’s Crashing Badly,’ Will Be ‘Superseded’ in Second Place

Matthew Perdie / Breitbart News, Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News

The full survey was taken September 14-18, 2023, among 2,107 Granite State Panel members It has a +/- 2.1 percent margin of error and comes as DeSantis continues to fall in various surveys, both nationally and state-wide. Wednesday’s RealClearPolitics (RCP) average showed Trump leading DeSantis by an average of 34.8 percent in the Granite State.