By David Sivak. Media: Washingtonexaminer
Support for Ron DeSantis has fallen to the single digits for the first time in New Hampshire polling as the Florida governor struggles to reset his sputtering 2024 campaign.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has overtaken DeSantis in a crowded primary field that former President Donald Trump continues to dominate, according to a new survey by Emerson College. Christie placed second with 9% support among New Hampshire Republicans, while DeSantis slipped to third with 8%.
The poll is the latest sign that the lane for second place in 2024 is open. DeSantis is still the only Republican besides Trump to pull in double digits in national polling but has lost substantial ground since launching his campaign in May.
That has given his GOP rivals the opportunity to present themselves as the next best alternative to Trump. This month, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy topped DeSantis for the first time nationally, while Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has surged to third place in Iowa.
The one constant? Trump’s command of the primary electorate. The former president holds a 40-point advantage over the rest of the GOP field, according to the RealClearPolitics average, the same lead Emerson found in New Hampshire polling.
DeSantis had long been considered Trump’s chief rival, following his landslide reelection victory in the Florida gubernatorial race last year, but his campaign has been plagued by a series of missteps and has undergone multiple shake-ups in recent weeks.
DeSantis’s campaign strategy is diametrically opposed to that of Christie, a onetime ally of Trump who soured on him after the Jan. 6 riot. Although both embrace the brawler persona of the former president, Christie is running as a staunch Trump critic. DeSantis, on the other hand, mirrors Trump in substance and style.
Christie has staked his candidacy on winning New Hampshire, the second primary state of the 2024 cycle — he launched his run with a town hall at Saint Anselm College — but he will have trouble winning over a GOP electorate still largely in Trump’s corner. The former president fell just shy of majority support in the Emerson poll.
Scott finds himself in fourth place in New Hampshire but fell within the margin of error of both Christie and DeSantis, according to Emerson, at 6%.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) registered at 4% in the poll, taken Aug. 9-11, while Ramaswamy received 3% support.
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