Never Trumpers like Ohio Governor John Kasich and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) are hoping they can derail President Donald Trump in New Hampshire in 2020, but Trump’s approval ratings are on the rise in the Granite State.
According to the University of New Hampshire’s Granite State poll that was released on Monday, approval of Trump’s “overall job performance, handling of the economy and foreign affairs, and his personal favorability have all increased since February,” primarily because of the state’s key independent voters.
The poll found that 41% of New Hampshire residents approve of Trump’s job performance, up from 35% in February. Nearly 80% of Republicans in the state still approve of Trump’s job performance, but 42% of independents now approve, up from 33% in February.
Trump’s personal favorability rating increased from 34% in February to 41% in April, again fueled by a +28-point swing among independents.
On the economy, 49% of New Hampshire residents approve of Trump’s performance, up from 34% in February. And on foreign policy, 42% approve of Trump’s performance, up from 34% in February.
Flake visited the Granite State last month and said that he hopes a Republican primaries Trump in 2020. Kasich has also taken several trips to New Hampshire, ensuring the legacy media give him plenty of attention. During his most recent trip to New Hampshire, Kasich insisted that he was not “plotting” or “scheming.”
Trump won New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary in 2016, and his victory propelled him to the GOP nomination and the presidency.
The poll was conducted April 13-22 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points.