Former President Donald Trump triples the support of his top Republican presidential primary rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), in a crowded field among New Hampshire Republicans following his arraignment, according to a New Hampshire Journal–Coefficient poll.
The poll, conducted entirely after Trump’s arraignment on 37 counts relating to his possession of documents from his presidency, taken on Tuesday and published Friday, shows 47 percent of likely GOP New Hampshire voters back Trump for the nomination in the broader field. He sits 34 points ahead of DeSantis, his nearest competitor, while no other candidate breaks the double-digit threshold.
In a hypothetical head-to-head, Trump more than doubles DeSantis at 49 percent and 23 percent, respectively, with another 28 percent undecided.
In the deeper field in the Granite State, former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) sits in third place with nine percent of support, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence at five percent. Former Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) all tie at three percent. Another five percent would back someone else, while ten percent are undecided.
While Christie and Pence’s single-digit showings mark the third and fourth top-performing candidates in this poll, they also have the highest amount of “never vote” responses.
When tasked to select all candidates who they would “never vote for under any circumstances,” 46 percent chose Christie, while 40 percent selected Pence. Trump came in a distant third with 26 percent, which was on par with Haley’s 25 percent. DeSantis fared third-best at 20 percent, while only 15 percent would “never” consider backing Ramaswamy or Scott.
Coefficient also asked respondents, “In your opinion, which of the following statements best describes Donald Trump becoming the Republican nominee for President?”
Of the respondents, 43 percent chose “Trump is the only Republican who can beat Biden and turn out the Republican Base,” versus 24 percent who selected “Trump will lose to Biden and hurt the party down ticket.” The remainder of the participants believes he would do as well as any generic GOP nominee.
Moreover, Trump’s indictment made a plurality of 42 percent of GOP voters even more likely to support him, while 15 percent are less likely to back him. Another 43 percent say it does not affect their vote.
Concerning the case, 35 percent of the Granite State respondents think Trump is innocent, 23 percent say he is guilty, and 42 percent have not made a judgment.
Coefficient sampled 904 likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire between June 14-16, and the poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.25 percentage points.