Polls Show Ron DeSantis Sliding in the Republican Primary

Several recent polls show Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida losing ground in the Republican presidential primary, both nationally and in early-voting states.

The numbers undermine an argument pushed by DeSantis’ campaign: that the primary is effectively a two-way race in which he is the only candidate who can consolidate support against former President Donald Trump.

A CNN/University of New Hampshire poll released Wednesday found that in New Hampshire, home to the first Republican primary, DeSantis had lost more than half of his support since the last UNH poll two months ago. He had just 10% in the poll — not only far behind Trump (39%), but roughly tied with Vivek Ramaswamy (13%), Nikki Haley (12%) and Chris Christie (11%).

In Iowa, which will hold the first Republican caucus in January, a Fox Business poll released Wednesday showed him at 15%, more than 30 points behind Trump and not far from third place, with Haley at 11%. Unlike the New Hampshire poll, the Fox poll didn’t show DeSantis actively shedding support — he was down only 1 point compared with the outlet’s July survey, which is not significant. But it showed no progress for him as the time he has to make gains grows shorter.

The picture was similar in South Carolina, where another Fox Business poll found him at 10%, significantly behind not only Trump, who was at 46%, but also Haley, the state’s former governor, at 18%. In July, he had been roughly tied with Haley.

And nationally, a Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed DeSantis at 12% — a full 50 points behind Trump and 6 points below where he was in August.

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/us/politics/desantis-new-hampshire-poll.html">The New York Times</a>.