Haley Continues to Trail Trump by Wide Margin Ahead of New Hampshire Primary - Poll

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Former US President Donald Trump maintains a significant advantage over former US Ambassador Nikki Haley as the New Hampshire presidential primary nears and the Republican race for the nomination is down to just two candidates, according to a Monmouth University-Washington Post Poll out Monday.

"When asked for whom they would vote in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary, 52% of potential voters choose Trump and 34% pick Haley," the poll said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race on Sunday, got 8%. All other former candidates gained only 2% in total. Primaries in New Hampshire are scheduled for January 23.

Trump’s leadership in the race remains clear even though Haley’s support has almost doubled since November, when she had only 18%. However, the former president’s backing has also improved from 46%, according to the survey.

"He receives backing from large majorities of voters who describe themselves as MAGA supporters (82%) or very conservative (78%), as well as white evangelicals (69%) and those without a college degree (60%). Haley has increased her share of the college graduate vote (43%, up from 29% in November), but it has not come at Trump’s expense (39%, up from 32%)," it added.

Over two-thirds of Trump supporters said they are extremely motivated to vote in the primaries, while only 55% of Haley backers have the same determination.

The survey also revealed that Trump has a huge advantage over Haley on immigration policy (62% against 26%), economic policy (58% against 29%), and foreign policy (57% against 32%).

The poll was conducted by telephone and online from January 16 to 20 among 712 potential Republican presidential primary voters in New Hampshire.