A survey conducted at the end of August by CNN and SSRS Research had more bad news for incumbent President Joe Biden and showed new movement among the GOP primary field in hypothetical general election matchups against the current occupant of the White House.
The poll, released on Thursday, tested GOP candidates Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Chris Christie, against Biden showed the incumbent losing to or tying every Republican contender other than Vivek Ramaswamy.
CNN poll: Head-to-head Biden-Trump matchup has Trump up 47-46. But other Republicans do better: Haley does best, 49-43. Even Pence, Scott, and Christie outscore Biden. DeSantis ties 47-47. Only Ramaswamy trails Biden, and that's by a single point, 45-46.https://t.co/f1SNA6GzSS pic.twitter.com/VdevD8hJWY
— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 7, 2023
Here's how the field fared against Biden in the hypothetical matchup according to the survey of more than 1,500 American adults in the nationally representative panel:
- Trump beat Biden 47 percent to 46 percent
- DeSantis tied Biden at 47 percent each
- Pence beat Biden 46 percent to 44 percent
- Christie beat Biden 44 percent to 42 percent
- Scott bested Biden 46 percent to 44 percent
- Ramaswamy lost to Biden 45 percent to 46 percent
- Haley beat Biden 49 percent to 43 percent
With a reported margin of error of 3.5 percent, "Haley stands as the only GOP candidate to hold a lead over Biden," CNN noted of its latest 2024 survey. "That difference is driven at least in part by broader support for Haley than for other Republicans among White voters with college degrees (she holds 51% of that group, compared with 48% or less for other Republicans tested in the poll)," according to CNN's report.
Sure, you may say, this is just one poll, a marker in time gathered by CNN, but Haley's team has been capitalizing on momentum since the first debate late last month they see as causing Republican voters to take a second look at her candidacy and agenda. As Leah reported earlier this week, there was also a poll in New Hampshire showing Haley tied with DeSantis for a distant second place to former President Donald Trump — another survey hyped up by Team Haley to show their candidate is not to be counted out. "Underestimate me, that'll be fun," has become a common refrain from Haley — even appearing on official campaign swag — and it seems to be the motto of the month as she sees stronger showings in some polls.
Her post-debate boost has been, at least, enough to draw the fire of the Biden campaign which unleashed its first round of attacks targeting Haley this week, specifically her education policy proposals. "Nikki Haley’s education ‘platform’ is just a retread of the same extreme policy points the other Republican candidates are echoing, reminding Americans just how out of touch 2024 Republicans are," a Biden campaign spokesperson said. "MAGA Republican candidates continue to show they have no real plan to improve our nation’s public schools, address youth mental health, or keep guns out of our schools," added the Biden spox.
In addition to the opening salvo of official attacks from the Biden campaign against Haley's parents- and students-first policies, POLITICO quoted a "senior Democratic strategist close with the Biden campaign" in August as fretting about how "we're in trouble" if Republicans nominate Haley.
Haley has already secured her place on the stage for the second GOP presidential primary debate taking place at the end of September in Simi Valley, California, when she will have another chance to contrast herself with fellow Republican hopefuls as she and the others seek to get a bump in the polls after the first debate showed there's still movement to happen among those seeking to best Trump in his quest to return to the White House.