Majority of New Hampshire, Iowa voters looking at candidates beyond Trump: Poll
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Former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Sept. 25 in Summerville, South Carolina. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Likely Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are still playing the field even as former President Trump holds a strong lead in the 2024 GOP race.
Driving the news: Over 75% of likely GOP voters in the two states are either not considering Trump at all, or are still considering him along with other candidates, a CBS News/YouGov poll found.
- However, when likely voters were asked who they would vote for today, Trump led the field by 30 points in Iowa and 37 points in New Hampshire. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was second in both states with 21% in Iowa and 13% in New Hampshire.
By the numbers: Of likely GOP primary voters in Iowa, 20% are only considering voting for Trump, as are 23% in New Hampshire.
- 48% of likely GOP primary voters in Iowa and 43% in New Hampshire are considering Trump and other candidates.
- 31% of those surveyed in Iowa, and 34% in New Hampshire aren't considering Trump at all.
Zoom in: In the poll conducted Sept. 15-24, most of Trump's backers in the two states said they're considering at least one other candidate.
- These voters were more likely to say they support Trump "with some reservations" in comparison to voters who say they're sticking with the former president.
- In both states, those only considering voting for Trump voters are outnumbered by a third of the electorate who aren't considering him at all, per the poll.
Meanwhile, voters considering choices beyond Trump expressed concern about the former president's "controversies" and legal fights, and think the party should consider someone new, according to CBS.
Of note: Non-Trump voters in Iowas are mostly considering DeSantis, while Haley leads in consideration by that group in New Hampshire.
What's next: Iowa's Republican caucus will meet on Jan. 15, 2024. New Hampshire's primary is slated to be held in January, too, but an exact date has not been set.
Go deeper: Trumpworld sees Haley surging toward DeSantis
Methodology: The CBS News/YouGov surveys were conducted between September 15-24, 2023 and based on representative samples of 1,011 registered voters in Iowa and 943 in New Hampshire. The samples were weighted according to gender, age, race, education, and geographic region based on the U.S. Census Current Population Survey, as well as past vote. The results have a margin of error of ±6.1 points in Iowa (n=458) and ±5.4 points in New Hampshire.
