Former Republican Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, a presidential candidate, is the best-positioned Republican candidate to defeat President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, according to a new poll conducted by The Wall Street Journal.
Haley, who served as governor for six years and as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, currently has 11.3% support among Republican primary voters, according to RealClearPolitics (RCP). However, in a hypothetical match-up against Biden in a general election, she would earn 51% of the national popular vote compared to Biden’s 34%, a 17-percentage-point difference, which is four times the margin of former President Donald Trump’s lead over Biden, according to the poll. (RELATED: ‘I Love Boeing’: Nikki Haley Forced To Go On Defense As Opponents Pounce On Corporate Ties)
“This latest poll shows why everyone was attacking Nikki Haley at the last debate. She has surged into second place and this is now a two-person race—between one man and one woman,” Ken Farnaso, the Haley campaign’s press secretary, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Nikki is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and voters are flocking to her message of a strong and proud America.”
“@NikkiHaley is the whole package. She really does bring a breadth of knowledge from her executive positions… She is a very firm leader and she gets foreign policy.” — Iowa Senator @JoniErnst pic.twitter.com/L5GKiJDpeK
— Team Haley (@TeamHaley) December 8, 2023
Recent polls have shown that Haley has gained support in Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first caucus and primary elections, respectively, will be held. In New Hampshire, she is currently in second place with 18.7% support, and is ranked third in Iowa, though is just three percentage points behind Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, according to RCP.
Trump remains the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, with 61.1% support on average, according to RCP. In a general election against Biden, he would garner 47% support to Biden’s 43%, according to the WSJ poll.
When third-party and independent candidates are considered, Trump’s lead expands to six percentage points, 37% to 31%, with the others earning a total of 17% support, according to the poll. Just 23% of voters said Biden’s policies have helped them, compared to 53% who report that his policies have hurt them.
The poll was conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4 and surveyed 1,500 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Trump and Biden’s presidential campaigns, as well as The White House, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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