The Republican presidential primary has been dominated by former President Donald Trump since the spring.
Trump commands a massive and potentially insurmountable lead in poll after poll.
But strong debate performances by former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley may have opened a window of hope against the Trump juggernaut.
Is moderate support coalescing behind Haley? One poll hints that Haley could actually have a chance against the 45th president, who remains very popular among Republican voters.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once Trump’s number-one contender for the Republican nomination, has faded in polls.
Top establishment rivals of Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, have suspended their campaigns before a single vote has been cast.
Responding to the changing Republican primary landscape, the Young Republicans National Federation (YRNF) conducted a mock Iowa caucus among their members — and, surprisingly, Haley claimed first place.
YRNF voters backed Haley over Trump, 37.8 percent to 23.3 percent, in the mock caucus.
DeSantis finished a distant third at 16.7 percent. Pastor Ryan Binkley, R-T.X., finished fourth with 7.8 percent of the caucus vote.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest around Nikki Haley and I think she’s really worked hard, one to connect with younger voters,” YRNF Midwest Regional Vice Chair Brett Barker told regional Iowa news station ABC5.
“A lot of it had to do with the most recent debate actually, and I think some of the comments that came out of the debate,” Mary West, Iowa Federation of Young Republicans state chair, said. “The media surrounding the debate influenced a lot of people.”
Critics shot back that the poll was an “unserious” straw poll and not evidence of a wider shift among Republican voters. One social media user pointed out that future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, who isn’t running, got 4.4 percent of the vote in the mock caucus.
And other recent polls show that former supporters of Pence and Scott have equally distributed among Iowa’s front-runners, and not flocked to Haley.
Still, Haley’s campaign pounced on the news, sharing a news clip from Iowa’s ABC5.
Take a look —
NEWS: @YRNational knows that it's time for a new generation of conservative leadership. Time to make @NikkiHaley our next president! pic.twitter.com/ADkLQy3cNb
— Team Haley (@TeamHaley) November 14, 2023
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