Nikki Haley slashes Trump’s lead in New Hampshire

Indian American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has slashed former President Donald Trump’s lead in New Hampshire with nearly two weeks to go until the first-in-the-nation primary, according to a new survey.

Haley garnered about 32% of likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State, an increase of 12 percentage points since November, in the new CNN/University of New Hampshire (UNH) poll released Tuesday.

Nikki Haley gaining ground in New Hampshire: poll (December 24, 2023)

Trump — who remains the front-runner in the Republican primary race, nationally and in New Hampshire — led Haley by 7 points, with 39% support from likely Republican primary voters. This is a slight dip from November for the former president, who had 42% backing then.

The other Republican candidates fell far behind in New Hampshire, pollsters found.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came next with 12% support, followed by Indian American biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 5% and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson at less than 1%.

The increase in support for Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, follows a series of polls showing her gaining momentum in recent months.

Haley’s popularity has also notably risen among undeclared registered voters — New Hampshire’s category for independent voters — by about 18 points since November, the CNN poll found. She’s also spiked 20 points among those with moderate ideologies.

Meanwhile, a USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll recently found that, while Haley has made gains, she lags behind Trump by a much larger margin: 46% to 26%.

Rising Haley decries Trump’s “pathetic” insults (October 2, 2023)

New Hampshire’s primary will take place on January 23, nearly a week after Iowa holds its caucuses to kick off the primary voting season.

The CNN/New Hampshire poll was conducted by the UNH Survey Center online on January 4-8 among 1,864 New Hampshire adults. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

Meanwhile “Judge Judy” Sheindlin has endorsed Haley. Former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin has presided over the American arbitration-based reality court show for 25 years.

“I’m proud to endorse Nikki Haley because she is whip-smart, has executive credentials and was a superb governor,” Sheindlin said in a Tuesday statement released by Haley’s campaign.

Calling the former South Carolina governor “principled” and “measured,” Sheindlin said Haley has that elusive “quality of real common sense.”

“I truly think she can restore America and believe she is the future of this great nation,” the TV veteran said.

Haley said she was “honored” to have the support of the 81-year-old Amazon Freevee “Judy Justice” presiding judge, dubbing Sheindlin a “no-nonsense lady.”

Sheindlin, Haley said, “has earned the respect of millions of Americans from her courtroom by being thoughtful, fair, and honest.”