Former South Carolina governor and newly announced 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley's (R-SC) popularity soared among conservative voters since debuting her campaign last week.
According to a new Morning Consult poll, six percent of Republican voters favored Haley, compared to just three percent of the vote seen a week prior.
The spike in polls for Haley came after CNN host Don Lemon claimed that the 51-year-old Republican is no longer in “her prime.”
The poll also found that Haley’s popularity boosted to 62 percent favorability, up from the 17 percent she was polling at before she announced her presidential bid.
However, she is still well behind former President Trump, with 50 percent support, and Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R-FL) 30 percent in the polls.
DeSantis is currently the only Republican candidate polling ahead of President Joe Biden, according to the poll, holding a one-point lead over him. Haley trails behind Biden at 35 percent to the president's 41 percent.
Haley was the first Republican to announce a run for the White House against Trump, while DeSantis has kept mum on his decision. However, the Florida governor is reportedly planning a summer campaign launch.
Haley has pitched herself as a “new generation” candidate for 2024, saying that America needs to start looking ahead.
“I think we need new energy going in,” Haley said in an interview. “I think we need to leave the status quo of the past and start looking ahead.”
Trump has congratulated Haley on her announcement, despite criticizing her for breaking her promise not to run against him.
“I’m glad she’s running,” Trump said in an interview. “I want her to follow her heart — even though she made a commitment that she would never run against who she called the greatest president of her lifetime.”
Meanwhile, Haley has insisted that she is not focusing her campaign on being different from Trump’s but rather on getting Biden out of the White House.
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