Trump holds wide lead in New Hampshire: Survey

Former President Trump holds a wide lead in a New Hampshire primary election poll released Monday that also shows an increase in the number of independent voters who plan to participate Tuesday.

In the Monmouth University/Washington Post poll of 712 potential GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, Trump received 52 percent support, up from 46 percent in a survey conducted in November.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s support in the new poll nearly doubled since November. She now has 34 percent support, up from 18 percent in November.

The poll was conducted Jan. 16-20, before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ended his presidential campaign Sunday. His support in this poll stands at 8 percent, compared to 7 percent in November.

In New Hampshire, non-affiliated and independent voters are allowed to participate in the GOP primary, and the new poll shows an uptick in the number of independents who say they plan to cast ballots.

In January, 63 percent of registered independents said they plan to take a Republican ballot, up from 52 percent in November. And in a positive sign for Haley, one-third of those independents say they voted for Democratic President Biden in the 2020 election.

While Haley is more popular among these independent voters, her lead is not overwhelming, and the poll suggests even the increased independent voter turnout remains unlikely to close the gap with Trump. Haley’s support stands at 48 percent among independents, compared to Trump’s 38 percent.

The poll is the first since former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) ended his campaign. Christie had 11 percent of the respondents’ support in November. In this poll, 1 percent of respondents said they would vote for him, despite the fact he is no longer in the race.

The January poll had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s New Hampshire GOP primary polling average, Trump leads by Haley 11.2 percentage points, with 47.4 percent to her 36.2 percent. Nationally Trump leads Haley 66.9 percent to 12.1 percent.

Updated at 9:26 a.m.