A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, after announcing her 2024 presidential campaign, coming out slightly ahead of President Biden in a hypothetical matchup, but far behind former President Donald Trump among Republican voters.
The survey, released Thursday, showed that 45% of likely voters would pick Haley, with 41% for Biden, and 10% for someone else.
However, among Republicans, Haley, who Trump appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, came in second in a hypothetical three-way contest for the nomination, with Republicans choosing Trump by 52%, Haley by 28%, and 24% for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not entered the 2024 race.
Haley netted mostly favorable results:
- 47% view her favorably, with 17% of those having a "very favorable" opinion of her.
- 37% viewed her unfavorably, with 17% having a "very unfavorable" impression.
- 55% of Republicans, 41% of Democrats, and 44% of unaffiliated voters have at least a somewhat favorable impression.
- 45% of Democrats, 29% of Republicans, and 37% of unaffiliated voters have an unfavorable impression of Haley.
- More men, at 57%, than women, at 39%, had a favorable impression.
- Haley would get 51% of the votes from men in a match-up with Biden, and 40% of the votes from women.
Younger voters and voters of color had a more favorable impression of Haley against Biden, with the poll showing that voters under 40 have a somewhat more favorable impression, with 52% of voters ages 40-64 and 50% of voters 65 and older choosing Haley.
Race also played a factor:
- 56% of white voters, 47% of Black voters, and 58% of other minorities had a somewhat favorable impression of her.
- White voters, by 48% to 41%, would pick Haley over Biden.
- Other minorities, by 44% to 37%, would pick Haley.
- Black voters would pick Biden, by 50% to 33%.
The poll also showed Haley would do better with voters who have incomes of between $50,000 and $100,000 and Biden scored higher among people with incomes of $200,000 or higher.
Biden supporters also seemed to view Haley as being easier for him to beat:
- 44% who strongly approve of Biden’s job performance want Haley to win the GOP nomination, 9% want Trump.
- 8% want DeSantis.
With voters who strongly oppose Biden, Trump was the strong favorite potential candidate, at 48%, followed by DeSantis, 32% and Haley, 8%.