Former President Donald Trump is leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by 41 points in New Hampshire.
The Republican primary matchup remains hypothetical, as only Trump has formally announced a 2024 bid.
The Emerson College poll released on Tuesday found that Trump with support of 58 percent of likely voters in the early primary state.
“Former President Donald Trump holds a 41-point lead in a hypothetical Republican primary, with 58% support. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis holds 17%, followed by Governor Sununu at 7%, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley at 6%, and former Vice President Mike Pence at 4%,” the pollsters report.
When looking only at candidates who have launched their campaigns, Trump’s lead was even stronger.
“Among announced candidates Trump, Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s support increases to 73%, followed by Haley with 20%, and Ramaswamy with 7%,” the poll found.
Polling director Spencer Kimball said that Trump has the most primary support from young voters.
“Similar to our February national poll, Trump finds his primary base among young voters: 67% of Republican primary voters under 35 support Trump as the nominee,” Kimball said. “Unlike the national survey, where DeSantis found a base of voters over 65 and those with higher educational attainment, DeSantis holds no such base at this time among New Hampshire Republicans. Similarly, Governor Sununu is unable to surpass 10% among any demographic groups.”
While DeSantis has largely kept mum about 2024 plans, it has been widely speculated that he does intend to run.
Last month, the same pollsters found in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary with ten candidates, Trump wins with 55 percent of the vote nationwide. His closest challenge was DeSantis, with 30 percent of the vote.
“No other candidate breaks double-digits,” The Hill reported at the time. “Former Vice President Mike Pence takes third place with just 8 percent of the vote, while former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who became the first major Republican candidate to challenge Trump for the GOP nod earlier this month, finishes with just 5 percent support.”
The poll also had Trump beating Biden — 46 percent to 42 percent.
The Emerson College Polling survey of New Hampshire voters was conducted March 3-5, 2023. The sample of registered voters, n=1,025, has a margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3 percentage points.
