Christie Surges Past DeSantis Among New Hampshire Republicans
In yet another dramatic sign that the DeSantis for President campaign is flailing, a new poll showed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leading the Florida governor in the key primary state of New Hampshire.
The survey was conducted by Emerson College Polling and revealed Christie has a one-point lead over DeSantis. Both, of course, are far behind Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
Christie hauled in 9% of the support from respondents, ahead of DeSantis’ 8%. Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said this inversion is a milestone in the race to the 2024 GOP nomination.
He noted that “DeSantis has been the alternative to Trump in Emerson polling this presidential cycle. This is the first time we have seen DeSantis drop out of second place in our polling, and fall into the pack of candidates.”
In March, DeSantis garnered 17% in New Hampshire.
The rest of the Republican field saw Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) with 6%, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum with 4%, Vivek Ramaswamy took in only 3%, and former Vice President Mike Pence tied former Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) with 1%.
While 13% declared themselves undecided, Trump continued to dominate his rivals in the latest data.
One age group that emphatically chose the former president was GOP adults aged 30-49. A full 56% were behind Trump while a paltry 4% threw their support to DeSantis.
Christie’s campaign has failed to gain traction nationwide, but he has focused much effort on New Hampshire. His entry into the 2024 race was announced in the state.
Meanwhile, DeSantis appears to be placing his focus on Iowa. A political operative from the state, David Polyansky, was recently hired as the Florida governor’s new deputy campaign manager.
DeSantis spent last weekend in Iowa, greeting voters and making rounds with Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The Emerson College survey delivered mixed messages to incumbent President Joe Biden. His 43% approval rating is five points higher than in March, but he still carried a disapproval rating of 46%.
Kimball noted the jump in approval came from party colleagues. Numbers showed 82% of Democrats approved of Biden’s job performance, a 14% surge from March.
