Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is gaining ground in the key early nominating state of Iowa, increasing her support among GOP caucusgoers by 10 points since August, according to a Monday poll.
Haley is tied for second with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa at 16%, following former President Donald Trump’s lead with 43% support, according to a Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll. While support for Haley increased from 6% to 16% in two months, DeSantis’ dropped by 3 points and Trump’s increased by only 1 point.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, whose support dropped by 2 points since August, is polling in third place with 7%, according to the poll. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy both received 4%, with the former’s support dropping by 1 point and the latter’s remaining the same.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum increased his standing by 1 point, garnering 3% support in the key early state, the survey found. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who didn’t register in the August survey, received 1%.
The Iowa caucus is the first of the 2024 primary season on Jan. 15.
Haley has also gained momentum in the first-in-the-nation primary, where she jumped ahead of DeSantis for second with 19% support in an early October New Hampshire survey conducted by Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA Today. The former governor also polled behind only Trump in South Carolina with 16%, according to a Winthrop University survey released Oct. 4.
A Tarrance Group survey published on Oct. 12 suggested Haley has 8% support in Nevada, following Trump’s 60% and Ramaswamy and DeSantis’ 11%.
The RealClearPolitics average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Oct. 4 and Oct. 23, indicates Trump is leading the field by roughly 47 points, followed by DeSantis with 12.6%, Haley with 8.3%, Ramaswamy with 4.5% and former Vice President Mike Pence, who suspended his campaign on Saturday, with 3.5%. Christie received 2.4%, Scott garnered 1.6% and all other GOP hopefuls brought in less than 1% support.
The Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom survey polled 404 likely Republican caucusgoers in Iowa from Oct. 2 to Oct. 26 with a margin of error of 4.9%.
Haley, Trump and DeSantis did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Mary Lou Masters on October 30, 2023
