- Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley shot to second place in New Hampshire
- Haley trails Trump by 15% in New Hampshire – one of the closest margins to the former president in 2024 polls so far
- With just 29 days until the caucuses, Iowa still remains in third place at 13%
Donald Trump still has a lead in New Hampshire, but his lead is shrinking as a new poll shows Nikki Haley closing the gap on the former president while overtaking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place.
According to a new CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, the former U.N. ambassador to New Hampshire is not only 18 points ahead of DeSantis, but she is also just 15 percent behind Trump.
29 percent of likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State prefer Haley, with 55 percent of voters describing her as “likable,” compared to 37 percent who say the same about DeSantis and 36 percent who say the same about Trump.
DeSantis is just 1 percentage point ahead of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is the only remaining anti-Trump candidate who has focused all his attention on winning the New England state and has yet to set foot in Iowa to campaign .
In New Hampshire, Donald Trump still leads with 44% support and there are less than 40 days until the primary election – but Nikki Haley has moved into second place with 18%, ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has moved into second place in New Hampshire, closing the gap on Donald Trump, trailing the former president by just 15%.
Despite his refusal to participate in the debates, Trump remained in first place in all national and statewide polls in the Republican primary. And numbers released Sunday show there's still a chance for other candidates to close the gap before the Iowa caucuses begin on Jan. 15.
The January 23 election marks the second primary in New Hampshrie – and the more liberal state of New England is showing a shift away from Trump.
In Iowa, Trump still leads the field of likely caucus participants with 58 percent support, followed by DeSantis at 22 percent and Haley in third place at 13 percent, the CBS poll conducted Dec. 8-15 shows.
The poll surveyed 1,054 registered voters in Iowa and 85 in New Hampshire.
Several previous polls in Iowa have shown DeSantis and Haley tied for second place, but the latest poll shows a rebound in the Hawkeye State for the Florida governor, who is ahead at 9 percent.
DeSantis received some momentum in Iowa, winning key support from Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats. He also completed the “full Grassley,” meaning he visited every single county in Iowa before caucus day.
This has likely kept him in a solid second place for most of the primary campaign so far.
Moving on to New Hampshire, Trump's lead in first place shrinks significantly, as he now has just 44 percent support in the Granite State, compared to 29 percent for Haley and just 11 percent for DeSantis.
DeSantis saw a sharp drop in poll numbers during New Hampshire's primary season, most likely because many Republican voters in New Hampshire are not as socially conservative as the Florida governor.
DeSantis has seen a decline in New Hampshire as Republicans in the New England state do not identify as strongly with his socially conservative agenda. But in Iowa, DeSantis is still a solid second place ahead of Haley
Haley — who has expressed more moderate social views, including on abortion — was able to overtake DeSantis in New Hampshire. The former South Carolina governor also made significant gains among those who described themselves as more moderate or independent.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy initially enjoyed some momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire, but lost after some controversial positions and personal attacks in two separate debates in Miami, Florida and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Ramaswamy is fourth in Iowa with 4 percent and fifth in New Hampshire with 5 percent.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who hasn't made it to the debate stage since the first showdown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is earning around 1 percent or less in early primary states.
Big boost for Nikki Haley as she far outpaces Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire – trailing Trump by just 15% in a poll just 37 days before the primary