Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has dropped one point and is now tied for fifth place in Iowa, a new NBC/Des Moines Registers/Mediacom IA GOP caucus poll released this morning shows.
Christie is tied with Vivek Ramaswamy with 4% of the vote.
His favorables are at 20%-69%, making him the least popular of the nine Republican presidential candidates. Trump is at 66%-32%, DeSantis at 69%-26%, and Halley at 59%-22%.
Donald Trump has gained one point since the August poll and now leads with 43%, with Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley tied at 16% each. Tim Scott is at 7%, Doug Burgum is at 3%, and Asa Hutchinson is running eighth with 1%.
“63% of Trump supporters say their minds are already made up, and they’ll definitely back him, suggesting a depth of support we just haven’t seen before, NBC News and MSNBC national political analyst Steve Kornacki said on social media. “The last GOP candidate (with) a lead this size at this point — (George W.) Bush in late ’99 — had ‘definite’ numbers 20-30 points below this.”
According to Kornacki, an important part of Haley’s rise in the polls comes from independents “who will make up a modest but not inconsequential share of the caucus electorate.”
“Given her strength (with) indies, to expand her support further and actually challenge Trump in IA, Haley will need to build appeal (with) core GOP voters and even some Trump backers,” Kornacki said. “Keep in mind, though, that indies play a much bigger role in New Hampshire, and that South Carolina comes shortly thereafter.”
Trump leads Haley among independents by a 33%-21% margin, with DeSantis at 10%, Ramaswamy at 9%, Burgum and Scott at 7% each. Christie is at 4%.
Christie is not focusing in Iowa, instead betting the house on New Hampshire.