Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's popularity has risen modestly after she launched her 2024 presidential campaign last week, according to a new Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday.
A total of 6% of Republican primary voters in the poll said they would support Haley in their state’s primary or caucus — double the share she received in the same poll the week before, The Hill reported.
Haley remains well behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who received 50% and 30% of GOP primary voters’ support, respectively, in the poll. She is also tied with former Vice President Mike Pence, at 6%.
The boost comes on the heels of CNN's Don Lemon last week criticizing Haley, 51, whom he said "isn't in her prime." Lemon was temporarily removed for the comment and later apologized. He returns this week.
While her boost in a likely primary match-up was modest, Haley did see a significant increase in popularity, with 62% of Republican primary voters saying they have a favorable view of the GOP candidate, according to Morning Consult. This is up 17% from before her campaign announcement on Feb. 14.
So far, Haley has not been critical of Trump, her former boss. She served as the ambassador to the United Nations, where she was a staunch supporter of Israel.
Some Republicans, such as former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton, have openly speculated that Haley is "really running for vice president" under Trump or DeSantis.
In a potential general election against President Joe Biden, DeSantis is currently the only Republican candidate polling ahead of the president. While DeSantis holds a 1-point lead over Biden in the poll, Trump stands 1 point behind his former 2020 opponent, and Haley remains 6 points behind. Biden, age 80, hasn't declared his intention to run for a second term.
DeSantis, age 44, has also yet to announce his candidacy for president, saying he enjoys his current job as governor of the Sunshine State. But he has increasingly ventured outside the state to criticize what he calls "woke" Democrat policies.
The Morning Consult poll on the Republican primary was conducted from Feb. 17-19 with 3,217 potential GOP primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 to 2 percentage points, while the hypothetical general election poll was conducted during the same time period with more than 5,000 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Morning Consult also polls about 800 Republican primary voters on a weekly or biweekly basis to produce the potential GOP candidates’ favorability ratings, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.