DeSantis Tied With Christie in New Hampshire: Poll

The new poll numbers come as Governor DeSantis’s campaign replaces its campaign manager, Generra Peck.

AP/Charles Krupa
Governor DeSantis shakes hands during a campaign event, July 31, 2023, at Rochester, New Hampshire. AP/Charles Krupa

As Governor DeSantis replaces his campaign manager, he is sliding in the polls to the point where he’s now tied with Governor Christie in the Granite State GOP primary race.

A new poll from co/efficient and NH Journal found that Mr. Trump leads in New Hampshire with 43 percent support for the state’s GOP primary.

Messrs. DeSantis and Christie were tied for second place at 9 percent support each. These standings represent a 4-point slide for both Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis since the pollster’s last survey in June. A former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, was in third place at 7 percent support.

Some 62 percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters told the pollsters they would vote for Mr. Trump in the primary, even if he is convicted of a felony. Another 57 percent said they would vote for Mr. Trump even if he was “serving time in prison.”

“As a pollster, I wonder if there is any other political figure in America who could generate this level of loyalty,” co/efficient’s executive, Ryan Munce, said. “It will be difficult for any Republican to peel away these voters.”

The new polling comes nearly a month after a leaked memo detailed the DeSantis campaign’s plans to focus on New Hampshire as part of a larger reset aimed at reversing the Florida governor’s sliding poll numbers.

“While Super Tuesday is critically important, we will not dedicate resources to Super Tuesday that slow our momentum in New Hampshire,” the memo, leaked to NBC News, said.

It appears, though, that the renewed focus on New Hampshire, historically the first state with a primary, hasn’t yet paid off for Mr. DeSantis, even though the poll was conducted just days after his three-day visit to the state.

Mr. DeSantis’s trip, his first visit by the governor to the state since his campaign reset, saw the governor railing against the so-called woke agenda and trying to capitalize on Mr. Trump’s latest indictment.

As part of this shakeup, Mr. DeSantis has moved his campaign manager, Generra Peck, into a chief strategist role. A staffer from the governor’s office, James Uthmeier, will now be heading up the campaign, according to Politico.

Mr. DeSantis’s stalling poll numbers come even as many New Hampshire Republicans work to keep Mr. Trump from winning the nomination, including Governor Sununu.

The Republicans set on keeping Mr. Trump from the nomination are, though, splintered among the various candidates. For Mr. DeSantis to win in New Hampshire, he would need to consolidate support of the various non-Trump candidates — something that doesn’t appear to be happening.

Still, New Hampshire has been the venue for unlikely political comebacks in the past, with President Clinton earning the moniker “the comeback kid” for his second-place finish in the state in 1992. Also, Senator McCain won the state’s GOP primary in 2008 after a famous campaign reset, similar to what Mr. DeSantis is attempting now.


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