Fresh off the Republican National Committee’s second presidential primary debate, a new Suffolk University, Boston Globe and USA Today poll shows candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley surpassing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place among voters in the critical early-voting state of New Hampshire. 

What You Need To Know

  • A new Suffolk University, Boston Globe and USA Today poll shows candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley surpassing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place among voters in the critical early voting state of New Hampshire
  • Polls show former President Donald Trump still dominates the GOP primary field; the survey of New Hampshire voters released Wednesday has him 30 percentage points above Haley 
  • Haley has continued to see her stock rise in polls and attention since the RNC’s first debate in August 

While all the party’s primary candidates remain far below former President Donald Trump –  the poll of New Hampshire voters released Wednesday has him 30 percentage points above Haley – DeSantis has held the distant second-place spot in most major national surveys for months. 

The Suffolk University, Boston Globe and USA Today poll among 500 likely Republican presidential primary voters in the Granite State had Trump at 49% support compared to Haley’s 19%. DeSantis came in at 10%. 

Haley has continued to see her stock rise in polls and attention since the RNC’s first debate in August. After candidates took the stage for a second time last month, her performance drew Trump’s ire. The former president in a post on his social media site Truth Social referred to Haley as “birdbrain” and criticized her for initially saying she would not run for president against him in 2024. 

The most recent national poll from Morning Consult conducted between Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 found Trump at 61%, DeSantis at 13% and Haley in third with 7%. 

As for other GOP contenders, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in fourth in the Suffolk University, Boston Globe and USA Today New Hampshire poll with 6%. Christie has put much of his attention and resources into the state, telling The New York Times in an interview last month that he will leave the race if he doesn’t do well in New Hampshire. 

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott received about 4% support each in the New Hampshire poll released on Wednesday while former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum received about 1% apiece. 

The poll was conducted between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2 and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.