Pollster questions Nikki Haley’s dodge of Ron DeSantis debate

New polling from New Hampshire tells a familiar story about the state’s two-person race in the Republican Presidential Primary.

While Ron DeSantis is at just 6% in the survey conducted by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center (SACSC) at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP), the pollster suggests Nikki Haley’s refusal to debate DeSantis may hurt her in Tuesday’s election.

“Haley still trails by a significant margin as she faces questions about her decision to skip the New Hampshire Debate, which may deny her the best remaining chance to close the deal with the voters she needs to make up ground on the front runner,” asserted New Hampshire Institute of Politics Executive Director Neil Levesque.

Haley trails Donald Trump 52% to 38% in the survey of 1398 New Hampshire Republican Presidential Primary on January 16th, 2024, a poll conducted after Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy suspended their campaigns.

Beyond questions about whether Haley should have debated someone in single digits in the polls, the survey offers little encouragement for DeSantis, who is leaving New Hampshire Wednesday evening with no current plans to return before next week’s Primary.

He also has 14% support among those voters for whom the Iowa results mattered, which is his best performance with any group polled. The Governor performs relatively well with college graduates, among whom he has 10% support. Meanwhile, 8% of “very conservative” respondents say they back him.

Still, for a candidate who talked months ago about how New Hampshire has inspired Florida, these results are brutal.

“But I must admit, we draw inspiration from the people here in New Hampshire,” DeSantis said. “Because more than any other state, you don’t mince words when it comes to your stand on liberty. You say it very clearly: Live Free or Die.”