Haley Tied With DeSantis For Second In New GOP Primary Poll

A new national poll conducted by Emerson College revealed that Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are tied for second place in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race.

Both Haley and DeSantis received 8% each, while former President Donald Trump secured the majority of the support at 59%, surpassing all his Republican contenders.

The majority of the other contenders received very little support, with Chris Christie, Mike Pence, and Vivek Ramaswamy each garnering 3%. A significant portion of voters, approximately 10%, had not made a decision.

According to the survey, Trump had a lead of 47% to 45% over President Joe Biden.

Matt Taglia, the senior director of Emerson College Polling, clarified in a statement that among those who hold Biden accountable for the economy, 58% claimed to be in a worse financial position than they were a year prior, while only 23% reported an improvement.

Conversely, among those who hold Trump responsible for the current state of the economy, 39% of participants said they were better off financially, while 27% reported a worse financial situation.

Haley’s showing had improved by about five points compared to a poll conducted by Emerson College last month, completing the upward trend she has exhibited in polling since the initial Republican debate in August.

DeSantis and Haley have been engaged in a public feud regarding their differing views on Mideast policy and are privately competing for the support of major Republican donors. DeSantis recently suggested that if Haley were president, she would welcome refugees from war-torn Gaza into the U.S.

A political action committee associated with DeSantis then ran ads making this accusation, which Haley denied and criticized DeSantis for misrepresenting her previous statements.