Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley leads President Biden in a head-to-head matchup in a new poll, but she still falls far behind former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary.
A poll by the Messenger/Harris shows that Ms. Haley beats Mr. Biden by four points in their hypothetical matchup. But in a contest between Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley, the former president sees support from 76%, while Ms. Haley grabs 19%.
Mr. Trump also leads Mr. Biden in their matchup by seven percentage points.
Ms. Haley sees more support from independent voters in her matchup with Mr. Trump. She grabs 40% of independents, while 36% say they would choose Mr. Trump.
“The Haley phenomenon is driven by moderate Republicans, independents and disaffected voters. She beats Biden handily in a general election because of this but still has a lot of ground to make up with Republicans,” Dritan Nesho, CEO and chief pollster at HarrisX, said in a statement.
The former U.N. ambassador has been rising in the polls and is now tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in some surveys of the GOP contest. She has received the backing of major donors and influential figures, including JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon who is prodding Democrats to help her in the 2024 presidential race.
“Even if you’re [a] very liberal Democrat, I urge you, you know, help Nikki Haley too,” he said.
Americans for Prosperity Action – the conservative political network led by billionaire Charles Koch — also announced its support for Ms. Haley.
“AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November,” Emily Seidel, a senior AFP Advisor, said in a memo. “She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead.”
On Tuesday, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman gave $250,000 to Stand For America INC, a super PAC that supports Ms. Haley.
She also peels off independent voters from Mr. Biden in the theoretical matchup in the new poll. She picks up 38% support from independents and Mr. Biden gets 28%
The poll was conducted online Nov. 27 through Dec. 1 among 2,018 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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