A new poll of likely Iowa GOP caucus voters shows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slumping into a distant third place, with just 13 percent of the vote. President Donald Trump retains a commanding 54 percent of overall support, with Nikki Haley now in second place with 20 percent.
When respondents were asked how they would vote without Christie, who has pitched himself as the ‘Never Trump’ candidate, Haley appeared to suck up all of his support, rising to 22 percent. This still leaves her 32 points behind Trump, but if the movement from Christie to Haley remains consistent across early voting states it could put her neck-and-neck with Trump in New Hampshire. Back in April, DeSantis had 30 percent, against Haley’s paltry five.
While Christie has claimed he is bowing out of the race to increase the chances of Trump losing the nomination, a hot mic caught him admitting that he has little faith in Haley before he announced he was quitting.
“She’s going to get smoked, you and I know it, she’s not up to this,” he said, adding that DeSantis had recently called him “petrified” about the state of the race.
📊 2024 IOWA GOP CAUCUS: Suffolk (A-)
• Trump — 54% (+34)
• Haley — 20%
• DeSantis — 13%
• Ramaswamy — 6%
• Christie — 2%
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With Christie out of the race:
• Trump — 54% (+32)
• Haley — 22%
• DeSantis — 13%
• Ramaswamy — 6%
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Source: @davidpaleologos | 500 LV pic.twitter.com/u4dgFFEf1a— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) January 11, 2024