Haley, DeSantis neck-and-neck for second place in GOP primary: poll

State of play: Trump and Haley both received their highest levels of support since Quinnipiac began surveying registered voters about the GOP primary in February 2023.

• DeSantis's registered his lowest level of support to date, at 11% of Republican and likely Republican voters, down from 36% in February.
• "The battle for second place heats up, but it's unlikely it will send a holiday chill through MAGA world," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy in a statement released with the results.

Of note: About half of the GOP respondents said they might change their vote before casting a ballot in the primary.

The big picture: After the poll was conducted, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump cannot appear on the state's ballots in 2024 because of the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause.

• Trump's campaign said he plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is weighing several other legal questions that could affect his political future and the outcome of the 2024 race.

Methodology: This poll of 1,647 registered voters was conducted between Dec. 14-18 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4%. Among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, it has a margin of error of +/- 3.7%.

Go deeper: How the Supreme Court could affect the 2024 presidential election