Chris Sununu sees ‘significant slide’ for Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire

Image via The Associated Press.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has focused heavily on Iowa during the 2024 campaign, and that hasn’t escaped the notice of New Hampshire’s Governor.

During a podcast interview with Tara Palmeri, Gov. Chris Sununu says the Florida Governor has had a “significant slide” in the Granite State.

“Ron’s campaign is Ron’s campaign, and obviously, he took a pretty significant slide,” Sununu said, referring to the Floridian’s plummet in the polls.

“He’s been spending a lot of time in Iowa. So that’s why he’s doing, I think, well, better in Iowa and not quite as well in New Hampshire, but he’s still got a game here, to be sure. He’s still coming, but not quite as much, and he’s putting a lot of his chips into Iowa, and there’s reason for that, and that’s understandable to a certain extent,” Sununu said. “You have to play in both states if you’re going to do well.”

Polling supports Sununu’s suggestion that DeSantis isn’t doing well in New Hampshire.

This month’s Washington Post-Monmouth survey of New Hampshire GOP Primary voters is arguably the bleakest yet for Ron DeSantis, as he’s now fallen to fifth place in the Granite State.

With 7% support, the Florida Governor finds himself behind Vivek Ramaswamy (8%), Chris Christie (11%), Nikki Haley (18%), and Donald Trump (46%).

Sununu’s comments align with that polling. He said a “surge” for Haley in New Hampshire is “very, very real.” Sununu argues there’s a path for “her to be the contender by the end of January.” Conversely, he said DeSantis lost “earned media” amid coverage of the former President’s legal troubles getting “all the headlines, all the attention.”

The Governor’s Granite State slide has been a recurring theme in recent polls. A fresh survey from the University of New Hampshire shows him in fourth place, just one point ahead of Ramaswamy.

The Washington Post poll ties DeSantis’ worst voter share with yet another new survey, the Emerson College Polling/WHDH poll of New Hampshire voters, which also finds the Florida Governor having slumped to 7%.

During the interview, Sununu further quibbled about DeSantis’ Iowa strategy, saying that the state’s Governor, Kim Reynolds, may have endorsed too early.

“Her timing of her endorsement was a little bit odd because it was a short week. It was the day before an election that was going to grab all the headlines. It was 10 days before the government was potentially going to shut down that way. It was just odd.”