Christie challenges DeSantis for second place behind Trump in New Hampshire 2024 GOP poll

Chris Christie overtakes Ron DeSantis in 2024 Republican presidential nomination race in New Hampshire. Trump remains frontrunner.

According to a new Emerson College poll, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has overtaken Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in New Hampshire.

Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks at a Tell it Like it Is PAC town hall campaign event in Salem, New Hampshire, U.S., August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder(REUTERS)

The recent poll, which surveyed 837 registered voters in the state from Aug. 9 to Aug. 11, shows that Christie is in second place behind former President Donald Trump, who remains the clear frontrunner.

The poll results indicate that Trump has the support of 49% of voters, while Christie has 9% and DeSantis has 8%. DeSantis has seen a significant drop in his popularity since March, when he had 17% support in the same poll. Christie’s slight edge over DeSantis is within the poll’s margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement that DeSantis had been the main challenger to Trump in previous polls, but this was the first time he fell behind Christie and other candidates.

“DeSantis has been the alternative to Trump in Emerson polling this presidential cycle. This is the first time we have seen DeSantis drop out of second place in our polling, and fall back into the pack of candidates.”

FILE PHOTO: Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs a supporter's hat, as he campaigns at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. August 12, 2023. REUTERS/Scott Morgan/File Photo(REUTERS)

Christie, who announced his candidacy at an event in New Hampshire, has focused his campaign efforts on the state, which holds the first presidential primary in the nation.

The Florida Governor, on the other hand, has shifted his attention to Iowa, which hosts the first caucus. He recently hired David Polyansky, an Iowa political strategist, as his new deputy campaign manager. He also visited the Iowa State Fair and attended several events with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican.

The Emerson College poll also found that Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was behind DeSantis with 6% support, followed by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who both had 4%.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy had 3%, businessman Perry Johnson had 2%, and former Vice President Mike Pence and former Rep. Will Hurd both had 1%. The poll also showed that 13% of voters were still undecided.