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9 months ago
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The gap appears to be narrowing in New Hampshire between former president Donald Trump and fellow Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
While Trump appears to be in a dominant position in Iowa, where the first of next month's primaries will take place, Haley appears to be benefiting from the more moderate electorate in New Hampshire compared to voters of the Midwest who believe her to be more 'reasonable' and 'likeable' in comparison to Trump.
Trump's lead in the Granite State is shrinking with polls seeing Haley closing the gap with the ex-president while also overtaking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place.
The former United Nations Ambassador is not only ahead of DeSantis by 18 points in New Hampshire, but she is also only trailing Trump by 15 percent, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll released on Sunday.
Where Trump appears to excel in leadership skills he falls short in New Hampshire when polls look at who is the most 'likable' or 'reasonable' candidate.
The gap appears to be narrowing in New Hampshire between former president Donald Trump and fellow Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. They are seen here conferring before a meeting during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2017
Haley soars past other GOP candidates when voters are asked to rank who is most 'resonable'
Haley scores even better when voters are asked to decide who is the most 'likable'
Haley, who appears to be the primary alternative for those not voting Trump. benefits from the more moderate electorate in New Hampshire compared to Iowa.
The CBS News poll also sees Haley nearly on par with Trump in terms of being 'prepared' which is perhaps surprising given Trump has already been president before.
29 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire prefer Haley, with 55 percent of the electorate describing her as 'likable' compared to 37 percent who say the same about DeSantis and 36 percent who say that about Trump.
DeSantis is only 1 percentage point ahead of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who as the only anti-Trump candidate remaining has focused all of his attention on clinching the New England state and has not yet stepped foot in Iowa for his campaign.
Haley was one of the rare survivors of the Trump administration, leaving with her reputation intact. Trump accepted her resignation in October 2018
A string of endorsements and strong debate performances have seen Haley pick up steam closing the gap on Trump
DeSantis has seen a major drop-off in New Hampshire polls throughout the primary election season, most likely due to the fact many Republican New Hampshire voters are not as socially conservative as the Florida governor.
In particular, Haley's campaign is focusing on her electability and positioning her as the most viable challenger to Trump.
Polls suggest Haley is making good progress among self-described moderates and independents and competing closely Trump in these demographics.
Haley – who has expressed more moderate social views, including on abortion – was able to overtake DeSantis in New Hampshire.
The former South Carolina governor has also made significant headway with those who described themselves as more moderate or independent.
Trump has won New Hampshire's GOP primary twice but lost the state in both of his general elections.
New Hampshire holds the second primary contest with its elections on January 23 and the state's moderates and independent voters appear to show an openness to candidates that are offering something different than Trump.
Trump has remained in first place in every national and state-wide poll in the Republican presidential primary race despite refusing to participate in the debates.
Donald Trump still holds the lead in New Hampshire with 44% support with less than 40 days until the primary election – but Nikki Haley has skyrocketed to second place ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 18%
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has skyrocketed to second place in New Hampshire and closed the gap with Donald Trump, only trailing the former president by 15%
DeSantis has seen a drop-off in New Hampshire as Republicans don't identify as much with his social conservative agenda. But in Iowa, DeSantis is still in a solid second place ahead of Haley
The numbers released on Sunday show that there's still a chance for other candidates to close the gap before the Iowa caucuses kick-off the primary contests on January 15.
While Trump remains the candidate to beat in the GOP field, with predications suggesting he could secure a majority of delegates in Iowa, Haley's support in New Hampshire could reveal more modest delegate count.
In Iowa, Trump still leads the field of likely caucus-goers with 58 percent support, followed by DeSantis with 22 percent and Haley in third place with 13 percent, the CBS poll conducted December 8-15 shows.
The survey took a sampling of 1,054 registered voters in Iowa and 85 in New Hampshire.
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