Poll: Ron DeSantis Drops to Fourth Place in New Hampshire

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has dropped to fourth place in New Hampshire’s presidential primary, an Emerson College survey released Wednesday found.

The survey showed former President Donald Trump, again, as the runaway frontrunner, leading the GOP field with 49 percent support in the Granite State. That percentage remains unchanged from his 49 percent support in August.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has surged to second place, 31 points behind Trump with 18 percent support. That reflects a 14 point leap from the four percent support she saw in August.

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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in third place, remaining consistent since August with nine percent support. DeSantis falls two points behind Christie, garnering seven percent support, down from eight percent in August.

Vivek Ramaswamy comes in fifth place with five percent support, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has two percent support, and nine percent said they are undecided.

Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling, observed that Haley’s lead is largely “driven by older voters, and those with postgraduate degrees.”

“While Trump leads across all age groups, Haley gets 21% of the vote from voters over 40 while getting about 8% from voters under 40,” he said.

But, despite DeSantis’s fourth place status, 22 percent chose him as their second choice candidate, followed by 18 percent who chose Haley and 15 percent who said Ramaswamy.

The full survey was taken November 10-13, 2023, among 917 registered voters and has a +/- 3.3 percent margin of error.

The survey comes as Haley’s campaign goes all in on a $10 million investment for ads in both Iowa and New Hampshire in hopes of crushing the DeSantis campaign in the early states — a move the DeSantis campaign is publicly unfazed by.

“No amount of money will be enough for Nikki Haley to conceal her pro-China, pro-Gaza aid, pro-gas tax, and pro-Hillary record,
DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo said in a statement.

“As Americans look behind the curtain, they will see she does not have the extensive record of conservative achievements that Ron DeSantis boasts,” he added.

Currently, the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average shows Trump dominating in South Carolina, Iowa, and New Hampshire, with DeSantis tying Christie for third place in New Hampshire and falling to third place — behind Trump and Haley —  in South Carolina. Notably, the average shows DeSantis in second place in Iowa, with Haley trailing just three points behind.

The surveys also come as tensions built up during the last debate, as candidates accused DeSantis of reportedly allowing a Chinese firm to expand near a U.S. military base in Florida despite bragging about banning China from buying land in the Sunshine State.

Haley said in part:

Not only that, you have a company that is a manufacturer of Chinese military planes…they are expanding to training sites at two of your airports now — one which is 12 miles away from a naval base. Then you have another company that’s expanding, and they were just invaded by the Department of Homeland Security. So mine was 10 years ago. What’s your story?

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DeSantis, in turn, has accused Haley of being “number one” on bringing in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into her state of South Carolina.

“And she actually — South Carolina gave away land to the CCP five miles away from a military base for them to do a business venture there,” he said during an appearance on the Mark Levin Show, as others continue to question his own record on China, accusing him of not being completely transparent.