Haley ties DeSantis for first time in Quinnipiac GOP primary poll

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Quinnipiac University's newest poll of the GOP presidential primary race, marking the latest sign of Haley's emerging threat to the Florida governor.

The new poll, published by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday, found 67 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters support former President Trump, while DeSantis and Haley each received 11 percent support.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's support fell into the single digits, with 4 percent choosing Ramaswamy and 3 percent choosing Christie.

The poll marked Trump and Haley's highest levels of support and DeSantis's lowest point since Quinnipiac University began the national surveys in February 2023. In February, DeSantis received 36 percent support, pollsters noted.

Among the Republican and Republican-leaning voters, 50 percent said they might change their candidate choice depending on what could happen leading up to the Republican primaries, which are less than a month away. About 48 percent said they are firm on their choice regardless of what happens before the Republican primary.

Haley has continued to rise in the polls in recent weeks, and in some places — notably New Hampshire — she has surpassed DeSantis's once-comfortable second-place spot.

"DeSantis continues his yearlong slide. Haley gains momentum. The battle for second place heats up, but it's unlikely it will send a holiday chill through MAGA world," Quinnipiac University analyst Tim Malloy wrote in a statement.

Trump has continued to maintain a strong lead over his GOP rivals in recent polls, despite four ongoing criminal cases, a civil fraud trail and, as of Tuesday, a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court that bars him from appearing on the state's ballot.

Trump earlier this month dismissed Haley's apparent surge in the polls, writing on Truth Social, "Where’s the Nikki Surge? I hear about it from the Fake News Media, but don’t see it in the Polls, or on the Ground.”

When it comes to the general election, Quinnipiac's poll found Trump and President Biden in a virtual dead heat in a hypothetical match-up. About 47 percent supported Biden and 46 percent backed Trump.

Support for each candidate fell along party lines, with about 94 percent of Democrats supporting Biden and 93 percent of Republicans backing Trump. Independents leaned slightly toward Biden by a margin of 6 points — 46 percent to 40 percent.

Adding in independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Biden garnered 38 percent support, Trump had 36 percent and Kennedy received 22 percent. When pollsters added in independent candidate Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Trump led the race with 38 percent, and Biden came in closely behind at 36 percent. Kennedy received 16 percent support, and West and Stein each received 3 percent support.

Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus will take place on Jan. 15, kicking off the primary season. New Hampshire will later hold their first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23. GOP candidates have spent considerable amounts of time in each of these states on the campaign trail, hoping to take away votes from the former president's strong lead.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted among 1,647 self-identified registered voters nationwide surveyed from Dec. 14-18. The poll included 702 Republican and Republican-leaning voters with a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points and 683 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.