Poll: Ron DeSantis Sputters to Fifth Place in GOP Field in New Hampshire

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) continues to trend in the wrong direction in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, as he lands in fifth place in a field of eight in New Hampshire, according to a Washington Post/Monmouth University poll. 

The poll, published on Friday, shows that former President Donald Trump leads the pack with 46 percent of support in the Granite State. Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) pulls 18 percent, earning her second place, while former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) comes in third place with 11 percent. 

From there, eight percent support entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, placing him one point above DeSantis, who earns seven percent. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who dropped out of the race while this poll was being conducted, garners three percent of the response, while Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) round out the field with two percent and one percent, respectively. 

DeSantis and Haley have, in essence, traded places when this poll is compared to earlier surveys taken by other polling outfits in the summer and the spring. For example, a University of New Hampshire poll conducted July 13-17 found DeSantis at 23 percent in New Hampshire and Haley at five percent.

Similarly, DeSantis held 19 percent of backing to Haley’s five percent in a St. Anselm College poll conducted from June 21-23. In March, St. Anselm had DeSantis at 29 percent, WMUR noted at the time.

Related Exclusive — Trump on DeSantis: “He’s Crashing Badly,” Will Be “Superseded” in Second Place

Matthew Perdie / Breitbart News, Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News

This current Washington Post/Monmouth University poll also gauged favorability ratings among the Republican primary candidates. Haley and Trump hold the best net favorability ratings at +25 percent and +23 percent, respectively. Of GOP primary voters, 59 percent find Trump favorable, 56 percent find Haley favorable, while 36 percent see Trump in an unfavorable light, and 31 percent have negative views of Haley. 

DeSantis comes in at +7 percent, with 47 percent finding him favorable and 40 percent saying he is unfavorable. Ramaswamy has a neutral net rating of 40 percent favorability and 40 percent unfavorability. 

Despite being in third place, Christie holds the worst net rating in the field at -31 percent, with 60 percent having negative views of him and just over a quarter of voters liking him. Hutchinson owns a similar net -27 point rating. Regarding Burgum, 23 percent see him in a positive light, while 25 percent view him negatively. Nearly half of all voters either did not have an opinion of the North Dakota governor or had never heard of him.  

The poll included responses from 606 potential Republican primary voters collected from November 9-14, and the margin of error sits at ± 4.5 percent.