Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire favor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while 37% support former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
The difference is within the poll's margin of error.
An October 2021 survey center poll showed Trump with a 43%-18% lead over DeSantis.
Results of the latest New Hampshire poll, released Wednesday:
- 9% favor former Vice President Mike Pence, while 6% support former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
- 50% of likely voters in the state would vote for President Joe Biden in a 2024 matchup with Trump, who trails by 7 points with 43% support in the hypothetical contest.
- 47% would vote for DeSantis, compared to 46% who say they would vote or Biden in a hypothetical matchup.
"Trump slipping in pre-primary polls is part of a typical pattern," said Andrew Smith, director of the survey center. "A party's losing candidate in the prior election is typically the best-known person in their party. As the primary gets close, new candidates emerge and attract more media attention, and therefore more voter attentions, than the losing candidate from the previous election."
The poll, conducted June 16-20, surveyed 845 likely New Hampshire voters. The margin of error in the full poll is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. In the Republican-only questions, the margin of error is plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.