Former President Donald Trump is 30 points ahead of his closest rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in New Hampshire, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA TODAY poll.
In addition, the vast majority of his supporters in the state say there's little chance of changing their vote, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA TODAY poll.
Trump's huge advantage in the state's primary is bolstered by the fact that any gains by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — who, at 19% is his closest rival in the state — are the result of waning support for other Republican challengers, not Trump. The poll found that just under half of those surveyed expect him to be the GOP's nominee.
According to the poll, 58% of likely primary voters believe the U.S. should end birthright citizenship, which is the constitutionally guaranteed right to American citizenship to anyone born in the country. A 61% majority believe that climate change is not happening or isn't serious and 71% said they were "concerned" about the way public schools are teaching race and sexual education.
For 73-year-old Randy Garabedian, Trump is "my choice out of default." The Hampstead Republican told The Boston Globe that Haley would be his choice in a one-on-one matchup with Trump.
"But I also feel like I don't want to throw my vote away, just because I like her," he said.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told the Globe that Haley is the strongest Republican alternative to Trump in New Hampshire. He predicted that the state's semi-open primary system — which allows undeclared voters to vote in the Republican primary — could be benefit to Haley because she is marginally more popular among undeclared voters than registered Republicans.
Other poll findings suggest that Haley and other Republican rivals don't have much room to grow.
Among likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters, 59% said their minds were made up on which candidate they're backing, versus 39% who said they might change their pick before the state's primary, expected to be held in January. Among Trump supporters, however, 84% said their vote was decided.
Trump supporters were also more convinced than other poll participants that the former president will ultimately win the nomination. While 48% of likely Republican voters said they believe in the inevitability of Trump's nomination, 71% of Trump supporters believe he will be the nominee.
When it comes to his four pending criminal cases, nearly 75% of likely GOP New Hampshire primary voters say Trump is innocent.
"Is anything statistically possible? Sure," Paleologos said when asked about the other candidates' chances of catching up to Trump. But "with where we are today," it's "improbable" that any candidate other than Trump would win the New Hampshire primary, he said.
"You can't get to Trump voters," he said of the uphill battle the former president's rivals face heading into the primary.
The poll was conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 and surveyed 500 likely Republican primary voters, 40% of whom were undeclared voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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