Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has seen a boost in popularity after launching her 2024 presidential campaign last week, according to a new Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday.
Six percent of Republican primary voters in the poll said they would support Haley in their state’s primary or caucus — double the share she received in the same poll the week before.
However, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations remains well behind former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who received 50 percent and 30 percent of GOP primary voters’ support, respectively, in the poll. Haley is also tied with former Vice President Mike Pence at 6 percent.
While her boost in a likely primary match-up was modest, Haley did see a significant increase in popularity, with 62 percent of Republican primary voters saying they have a favorable view of the GOP candidate. This is up 17 percent from before her campaign announcement on Feb. 14.
In a potential general election against President Biden, DeSantis is currently the only Republican candidate polling ahead of the president. While DeSantis holds a 1-point lead over Biden in the poll, Trump stands 1 point behind his former 2020 opponent and Haley remains 6 points behind.
DeSantis has yet to announce his candidacy, but the Florida governor is widely seen as one of Trump’s top competitors for the Republican nomination.
The Morning Consult poll on the Republican primary was conducted from Feb. 17-19 with 3,217 potential GOP primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 to 2 percentage points, while the hypothetical general election poll was conducted during the same time period with more than 5,000 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Morning Consult also polls about 800 Republican primary voters on a weekly or biweekly basis to produce the potential GOP candidates’ favorability ratings, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
