Indian American presidential aspirant Nikki Haley has risen to tie with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place in Iowa even as Donald Trump continues to hold a commanding lead in the Republican field, according to a new poll
With 16% support former UN Ambassador Haley has gained 10 points since August, while DeSantis is down by three points, according to an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll released Monday, about a week ahead of the third Republican debate. Only 6% of respondents in August had listed Haley as their top choice when asked the same questions.
But both Haley and DeSantis trail Trump with 43% of likely Republican caucusgoers picking up the former president as their first-choice candidate, giving him a 27-point lead that’s up four points since the August Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) follows Haley and DeSantis with 7% and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Indian American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy both hold 4%.
Former NH Sen. Judd Gregg endorses Haley presidential bid (October 25, 2023)
Pollsters noted that the survey was conducted before former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the race on Saturday. His votes were reallocated to the respondents’ second-choice candidates, but it did not significantly change the results, organizers added.
The poll found that while Trump maintains a comfortable lead, some Iowa Republicans say they are still considering other candidates.
About 27% listed DeSantis as their second choice and another 25% said they are actively considering him.
As many as 17% said that Haley would be their second choice with an additional 22% saying they are considering her.
READ: Nikki Haley beats Biden by four points in new poll (October 12, 2023)
Slightly more than four in 10 respondents — 41% — said that their minds are made up on their first-choice candidate while 54% said they could still be persuaded to vote for someone else.
Trump’s supporters remain the most loyal, with 63% saying that their choice is set in stone and 37% saying they could be persuaded.
Of the 30% who listed DeSantis as their first choice said that their mind is made up, while 26% who selected Haley as their first choice said the same.
The poll was conducted among 404 likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa and was conducted Oct. 22 to 26. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.