Haley supporters more likely to vote for Biden over Trump: Poll

Supporters of former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R) are more likely to cross party lines and vote for President Joe Biden (D) over former President Donald Trump (R), according to the new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

The poll, which surveyed likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa, found that 43% of Haley supporters said they would vote for Biden if Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination. Only 23% of Haley backers said they would cast their votes for Trump if he were the GOP nominee, 8% said they would support independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and 19% said they would back another third-party candidate.

According to 54% of Haley supporters, it would be nearly impossible for Trump to secure a win against Biden.

Pollster J. Ann Selzer told NBC News, “Haley is consolidating the anti-Trump vote. She does well with the people who define themselves as anti-Trump.”

Of all the 705 Republicans polled, 71% stated they would support Trump if he were the Republican nominee, 11% would vote for Biden, 6% for Kennedy, and 8% for another third-party candidate.

Additionally, 74% of the Republicans surveyed are confident Trump can defeat Biden. Trump supporters overwhelmingly responded that they believe the former president can win an election against Biden.

Rose Janssen, a 69-year-old minister from Waterloo and a caucus captain for the Trump campaign, told the Des Moines Register that the legal attacks against Trump have only energized his supporters.

“I believe [the legal issues are] helping his campaign, because we’re angry,” Janssen said. “This makes us more desperate to get Democrats out of office.”

Fifty-six percent of Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis supporters believe Trump could win against Biden, while 36% believe his victory would be nearly impossible, according to the poll. Of the DeSantis supporters surveyed, 64% said they would vote for Trump if he were up against Biden, 5% said they would back Biden, 9% Kennedy, and 12% another third-party candidate.

The poll has Trump as the clear Republican front-runner in Iowa with 48% of the vote, Haley in second place with 20%, and DeSantis in third with 16%. Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson trailed behind with 8% and 1%, respectively.

When asked about the poll’s results, DeSantis told Fox News Sunday, “We’re going to do well on Monday.”

“We’ve got large number of Iowans that have committed to caucus for us that are going to show up. They just kind of roll their eyes at these polls because the idea that you’re going to be able to poll a caucus, much less a caucus in negative 20, good luck doing that,” he added.

When asked if he would need to finish second in the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis responded, “I appreciate being the underdog.”

A recent CBS News/YouGov poll, which surveyed 2,870 people from January 10 through 12, revealed that the top three Republican presidential candidates — Trump, Haley, and DeSantis — are all leading Biden. The hypothetical matchup showed Haley with a massive eight-point victory against Biden, DeSantis up three points, and Trump up two.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!