Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are statistically tied in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary matchup, according to a recent Neighborhood Research survey.
The survey shows both DeSantis and Trump statistically tied in the Granite State, garnering 33 percent and 32 percent, respectively. However, the survey notes that this represents a “big shift” from the same survey in July, which found Trump leading 41 percent to DeSantis’s 22 percent:
“The race is fluid based on the news of the week. Trump led 39%-35% in surveys conducted before the Georgia runoff results were in,” Rick Shaftan of Neighborhood Research and Media said. “He then took a bad hit the next two nights, losing by 35%-24%.”
“But that was reversed in this week’s calling after the Twitter Files release where Trump jumped to a 36%-29% lead, so people can interpret this any way they want,” he added.
Both Trump and DeSantis have positive favorable ratings in the state, garnering 50 percent and 71 percent, respectively.
According to the survey, nearly one third of the New Hampshire electorate, 30 percent, remain undecided.
The poll was taken December 5-9 and 12-13, 2022, among 434 respondents and has a +/- 4.7 percent margin of error.
Trump won the Republican primary race in New Hampshire in 2016 — besting a large field of candidates by double digits — and in 2020 as well.
File/Bumper stickers supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on sale at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Conroe, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. At Trump’s rally, there were signs of change. Next to the Trump hats, shirts and flags sat a collection of Ron “DeSantis 2024” stickers. (AP Photo/Jill Colvin)
He formally announced his 2024 presidential bid during a speech in Mar-a-Lago last month, unveiling his “National Greatness Agenda.”
“This is what we call a National Greatness Agenda, because our country can be greater than it’s ever been. Our country is not great anymore. It’s a mess,” Trump said during the 69-minute speech.
“But our country can be greater than it ever was before. There will be more, much more in the months ahead—and there are so many things we need to do. The road ahead of us will not be easy,” he warned, emphasizing the need for the country to return to an era of “peace through strength.”
Trump has also taken preemptive strikes at DeSantis, although the Florida governor has not said he intends to run in 2024. Last year, in fact, DeSantis dismissed the rumors as “purely manufactured.”
Trump, however, has criticized DeSantis for not overtly announcing that he will not run against him, leading to his latest nickname, Ron DeSanctimonious.
“And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games!” he said in a statement and TruthSocial post. “The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer…”
DeSantis, meanwhile, has not fired back, dismissing the speculation of a “civil war” between the two politicians.
“We just finished this election,” DeSantis told reporters last month. “People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff.”
When asked about Trump’s remarks the day before, DeSantis said “incoming fire” is just the nature of the job.