Haley, nipping at Trump’s heels in New Hampshire, has winning shot without Christie

With just two weeks left before the nation’s first presidential primary, a major new poll out of New Hampshire shows former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley closing the gap between her campaign for the presidency and that of her ex-boss.

According to a CNN/University of New Hampshire survey released on Tuesday, the former South Carolina governor trails the 45th president among Granite State voters by just 7 points.

“Former president Donald Trump still leads the 2024 New Hampshire presidential primary field, but former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is close behind. Currently, 39% of likely Republican primary voters say they will vote for Trump, 32% support Haley, 12% support former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 8% support entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 5% support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and less than 1% support former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson,” pollsters wrote.

UNH pollsters interviewed over 1,800 likely voters via an online survey administered from Jan. 4 to Jan. 8. Over 900 of those who completed the survey are expected to participate in the Granite State’s Jan. 23 primary, according to pollsters.

Of those conservatives surveyed, many of the 12% expressing support for Christie, who has been an outspoken Trump critic, pick Haley as their number-two option. According to the numbers presented by the pollsters, if the former federal prosecutor would drop out and back Haley, she could gain enough support to beat Trump in the New Hampshire primary.

“Haley would likely move even closer to Trump if former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were to withdraw, as two-thirds of Christie’s supporters select Haley as their second choice,” pollsters wrote.

Voters not belonging to either of the major national parties also swing toward Haley, according to the poll. Unenrolled voters are allowed to cast a partisan ballot in New Hampshire.

“Undeclared voters who plan to vote in the Republican primary favor Haley over Trump by more than two to one, while Trump holds a large lead among registered Republicans,” they wrote.

Tuesday’s poll comes following a Christmas-time survey by Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action, in which Haley was just three points behind Trump among Granite State conservatives.

A USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll also released Tuesday told a slightly different story. That survey of 1,000 likely primary Granite State primary voters showed Haley behind Trump by about 20 points, with Christie again at 12%.