The race for the Republican nomination is heating up, with candidates at the bottom seeing their support increase. The percentage of voters backing former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is running on an anti-Trump ticket, has grown from 2% to 8% in the crucial early-voting state of New Hampshire. A JL Partners poll conducted for the Daily Mail showed later entries to the race improving their position while the leading contenders, Trump and DeSantis, take a slight hit.
Donald Trump remains the clear frontrunner, however, with 42%. In a head-to-head with his nearest rival Ron DeSantis, the former President is ahead by 50% to 33%. Trump’s overall lead fell from 51% in April, but pollster James Johnson said, “Despite Trump’s vote share taking a hit, the former President benefits the most. The more varied the field, the more chance he has of winning the nomination. Trump remains the hot favorite for the New Hampshire primary.”
Other movers include South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, whose support is up from 1% in April to 8% in July. Vivek Ramaswamy has increased from 1% to 4%, while Nikki Haley remains on 4%.
The most striking increase in support is for Chris Christie, who is virulently anti-Trump and has entered the race to attack the former President. Christie recently told CNN’s Erin Burnett that Trump is a con man taking people’s money and spending it on high price lawyers for his own legal defense. He added the Trump’s legal woes are entirely of his own making.
Nevertheless, Mr. Trump remains people’s favorite Republican in almost every state, and in some polls, is beating President Biden convincingly. A Harris X survey in July saw Trump at 46% to Biden’s 42%, and he remains miles ahead in the early-voting states. In Iowa, Trump is leading DeSantis by 42% to 15% and is likewise trouncing every other Republican candidate. Meanwhile, President Biden’s approval rating dropped by double figures to around 40%.
