New Hampshire debate: The people of New Hampshire have a direct message for Chris Christie.
Leave the island now.
In an exclusive USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll conducted in New Hampshire, 41% of likely Republican primary voters who watched the debate last week named the former governor of New Jersey as the winner, or rather, loser, in the question of which of the seven candidates should withdraw from the race for president first.
Mike Pence, the former vice president, came in far behind at 17%. Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota received 16% of the vote, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy received 11%.
That’s especially terrible news for Christie, whose campaign has been focused on New Hampshire. Independents and Republicans can participate in the first-in-the-nation primary, and the libertarian tendencies of the state (whose license plate motto is “Live Free or Die”) have occasionally helped underdog candidates succeed.
During the debate, which was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, the contenders reacted negatively when Fox News moderator Dana Perino urged them to choose a stagemate who should be “voted off the island,” or eliminated from the campaign.
Voters were more willing to respond.
Richard Aliano, 77, a retired lawyer from Wolfeboro who is backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said after being surveyed, “Chris Christie is very entertaining.” But I don’t believe he ought to be a candidate.
The margin of error for the landline and mobile survey of 500 potential Republican voters, conducted from September 28 to October 2, is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The error margin for the sample of 202 respondents who saw the debate is 6.9 points.
The opening Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary are expected to give Trump’s rivals a boost that might weaken the former president’s hold on the race. The New Hampshire primary is most likely to take place on January 23, and the caucuses are scheduled for January 15.
According to a realclearpolitics.com average of recent statewide surveys, Trump currently enjoys a commanding lead of 31 percentage points in New Hampshire, at 44%, even though former UN ambassador Nikki Haley has moved up to second place, at 13%. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is now at 10.5%.
Here are a few more details from the most recent statewide survey by USA TODAY.
Are people tuning into the debates?
Four out of ten respondents to the poll indicated they watched the most recent debate, a considerable percentage given that the primary is still three months away and that they had other options, such as watching videos online or going to back-to-school events.
For two reasons, according to Lynne Chase, a 63-year-old independent registered nurse from Grantham who participated in the poll. “I get up so early for my duty at the hospital; it’s too late for me to stay up.” The second reason, according to her, is that “both on the Democratic and Republican sides, the debates are becoming more of a clown show and less of a debate in the traditional sense of the word.”
They’d like Donald Trump on stage next time.
Donald Trump should attend the third debate, according to those who witnessed the second.
The former president should attend the event in Miami next month, according to a majority of 55%; 37% disagreed.
“I think he should, but I don’t think it’s really necessary,” said Republican from Newport and former Licensed Nursing Assistant Joyce Briand, 62. “So many people are behind him,”
Trump also had same justification for skipping the previous two debates.
Aid to Ukraine divides GOP voters.
The contenders on stage disagreed on whether or not the United States should continue to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Additionally, it divided the viewers from New Hampshire.
Nearly half, 48%, favored gradually ceasing aid to Ukraine, while 39% preferred to keep it going. Only 9% supported raising it.
“Phase it out,” Briand advised. We are left with nothing since they are sending so much money over here.
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