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Which GOP Candidate Will DeSantis Supporters Vote for in New Hampshire?

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  January 22, 2024 8:00 AM

Florida governor and former Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday, days ahead of the GOP primary in New Hampshire. 

In his video announcement, the Florida Republican admitted after Iowa, where he finished second but did not win a single county, it was “clear… that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.”

As he promised in signing a loyalty pledge, DeSantis threw his support behind former President Donald Trump, noting that “we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear—a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.” 

Will his supporters in the Granite State agree? According to a CNN/University of New Hampshire survey that dropped just ahead of DeSantis’s announcement, 62 percent of likely Republican voters who chose the Florida governor as their first pick named Trump as their second choice. That’s compared to 30 percent who said Haley was their No. 2 pick. 

DeSantis’ support in the state fell well below Trump and Haley, however.

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Trump holds 50% support among likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State, while his closest competitor, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, stands at 39%. Both have gained supporters since the last CNN/UNH poll in early January – when Trump held 39% to Haley’s 32% – as the field of major contenders has shrunk. Both Trump and Haley now hold their highest level of support in UNH polling on the race since 2021. But Haley’s sharp gains since late last summer have not been enough to catch Trump, as the gap between them has once again widened to double digits.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday that he is ending his White House bid and endorsing the former president. He stood at just 6% in the poll, below the 10% minimum support he would need to win delegates there per the Republican Party’s rules. (CNN)