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A new poll of New Hampshire Republicans has delivered bad news to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who recently shook up his campaign staffing amid plummeting poll numbers in the GOP presidential race.
Emerson College's survey, released Tuesday shows former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie overtaking DeSantis, long viewed as the Republican with the best chance of beating Donald Trump, in New Hampshire. After the Iowa caucuses, the Granite State holds its "first in the nation" primary. A strong showing in New Hampshire is seen as crucial for candidates, as it can bring them the kind of media coverage and fundraising that can bolster their campaigns ahead of other early-voting states.
The poll, which surveyed 498 Republican primary voters from August 9 to 11, found Christie ahead of DeSantis by a single percentage point. Nine percent of voters said they planned to back Christie, who has made criticism of Trump a cornerstone of his campaign, while 8 percent said they would vote for DeSantis.
Trump, however, continued to hold his overwhelming lead over the other candidates. Forty-nine percent of respondents said they would vote for the former president in the primary.
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' campaign via its press inquiries form, and a Christie campaign adviser via email, for comment.
The poll comes after some difficult weeks for the DeSantis campaign. The governor's embrace of culture war issues has propelled him to national prominence and popularity among many conservative voters, but he has long polled in second place behind Trump.
DeSantis' poll numbers have slipped in recent weeks, and there have been reports about his campaign's fundraising difficulties. A separate recent poll also found DeSantis polling in third place nationally.
The Cygnal poll, which surveyed 2,000 voters across the country from August 1 to 3, found entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy overtaking DeSantis. Eleven percent of voters said they would back Ramaswamy, while 10 percent said they planned to vote for DeSantis.
Amid these challenges, DeSantis' campaign has undergone shake-ups aimed at building back his support among Republican voters. In July, he fired roughly a dozen staffers. Early this month, he replaced campaign manager Generra Peck with his gubernatorial chief of staff, James Uthmeier.
Amid all this, DeSantis has softened his tone in his feud against Disney, whose Orlando-area theme park employs more than 75,000 and is viewed as an economic powerhouse for the region. DeSantis said Monday that he has moved on from the feud, which began after the company expressed opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. Some Republicans have voiced criticism of DeSantis' Disney spat.
Christie has been one of the Republican candidates to criticize DeSantis over the Disney feud, as well as his stance on various social issues such as LGBTQ+ rights.
"Where are we headed here now, that if you express disagreement in this country the government is allowed to punish you?" Christie asked during an April event hosted by news website Semafor.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more