It seems like just yesterday Gov. Ron DeSantis was beating 45th President Donald Trump in New Hampshire. Now he’s in fourth place.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis now polls fourth among New Hampshire Republicans, according to a new poll released on Monday.
The Echelon Insights/Republican Main Street Partnership poll of 800 likely Republican voters showed that Trump continues to enjoy a 20-point lead in New Hampshire, but his nearest competition is former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at 14%. Behind Christie is Vivek Ramaswamy, the Hindu businessman of Indian descent, at 11%.
In fourth place – and single digits – is DeSantis, receiving 9% of support.
It is a stunning fall from grace for the Florida governor who, for a brief moment, seemed to be the only candidate capable of stopping the political momentum Trump and his movement have enjoyed since 2015.
In June of last year, DeSantis made national headlines when a similar New Hampshire poll saw him beat Trump. At the time, it was perhaps the first poll to show that Trump may not have the Republican electorate completely secured.
At that time DeSantis polled at 39%, narrowly beating Trump, who himself polled at 37%. We reported that Trump was concerned about DeSantis’s unchecked popularity and presidential ambitions, as the Florida governor was currently conducting what became a wildly successful campaign for reelection.
In the year that followed, Trump’s popularity would be buoyed by more than 100 indictments, mostly from partisan prosecutors, while DeSantis would be hampered by campaign missteps and relaunches, despite at one time being the best funded political effort on the Republican side.
Despite the shortcomings, DeSantis finds himself in good company among those ranking in single digits of support.
Below DeSantis are Sen. Tim Scott at 7%; Mike Pence at 3%; Nikki Haley at 3%; Will Hurd at 3%; Doug Burgum at 2%, and Asa Hutchinson at 1%.
Like DeSantis, the former vice president has suffered over the last year. Last year, Pence had the support of 9% of Republicans, losing two thirds of his supporters in just over a year.
The poll also reported that more than one quarter of Republicans said political corruption is their most important issue, followed by 15% who said cost of living is the most important, and 11% who said jobs and the economy or immigration were their top issue, respectively.
Original Article: https://valiantnews.com/2023/08/desantis-sinks-to-4th-place-in-new-hampshire-poll-once-beat-trump-in-granite-state/
