Nikki Haley emerging as top Republican alternative to Trump: polls
By Carl Samson
November 23, 2023
Multiple polls released in the past week show Nikki Haley as the top alternative to former President Donald Trump in the GOP’s bid for the White House.
Overtaking rivals: Haley, 51, placed second in at least three new surveys. In New Hampshire, a CNN/University of New Hampshire poll out Nov. 16 shows Trump leading the pack with 42%, but Haley, who polled 12% in September, now has 20%, overtaking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (9%) and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (8%).
Beating Biden: The recent polls also find Haley as the best GOP candidate against President Joe Biden in a general election. A Marquette Law School national survey released Nov. 16 shows the former South Carolina governor leading Biden by 10 points among registered voters (55% to 45%) and an even higher 12 points among likely voters (56% to 44%).
By comparison, Trump, the next best candidate, leads Biden by four points among registered voters (52% to 48%). This gap narrows further by two points among likely voters (51% to 49%).
In Michigan, an EPIC-MRA poll released Nov. 18 shows Haley beating Biden by 11 points (47% to 36%). Meanwhile, Trump leads Biden by just five points (46% to 41%).
Steady rise: Haley has been gaining momentum and overtaking her rivals — primarily DeSantis — since her performance in the first Republican presidential debate in August. The former U.N. ambassador has also bested Biden in at least two other polls, with her biggest advantage noted among independent voters.
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