Haley takes no. 2 slot in New Hampshire as DeSantis tanks: poll

Former President Donald Trump maintains a commanding lead in the battle for New Hampshire, a recent survey has shown, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has surged to the second place position.

Trump earned 42% support compared to Haley's 14% in the latest InsiderAdvantage survey, carving out an 28% lead. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie placed third with 10% while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took 8% support.

"[T]he battle for number two appears tepid at the moment. Trump’s endless barrage of attacks on Ron DeSantis has taken its toll, as DeSantis has fallen into single digits. None of the second tier candidates appear to have a foundation upon which to build larger numbers as of now," said InsiderAdvantage Chairman Matt Towery. "After polling this race both nationally and in various states it is becoming ironically clear that the 45th president has roughly a forty-five percent floor in this overall contest. In many surveys his numbers go way beyond that floor, indicating the daunting task those trying to replace him as the GOP nominee face."

The results loosely align with those of a recent CNN/University of New Hampshire survey that showed Trump at 39%, tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy at 13%, Haley at 12%, Christie at 11%, and DeSantis at 10%. Ramaswamy took 5% support in the Insider Advantage survey, tying with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott for fifth place.

Conducted Sept. 20, the survey questioned 850 likely Republican primary voters and has a margin of error and +/- 3.36%.

The results come ahead of the second primary debate, slated for Wednesday. Trump does not plan to attend and will instead travel to Michigan to address striking auto workers.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.