Haley top Republican alternative to Trump in New Hampshire: Poll

Washington, Dec 19: Indian-American presidential aspirant Nikki Haley has emerged as the top alternative to former US President Donald Trump among Republican voters in the state of New Hampshire, according to a new poll.

While Trump still leads in the 'Granite State', the former South Carolina Governor has consolidated much of the non-Trump vote, the latest CBS News/YouGov poll found.

Twenty-nine per cent of the likely Republican primary voters said they would vote for Haley, 15 per cent behind Trump.

Eleven per cent said they would vote for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and 10 per cent said they would vote for former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

No other candidate received more than 10 per cent.

"Haley gets the best marks on being seen as 'likable' and 'reasonable', and she runs nearly even with Trump on being 'prepared' -- notable, considering he held the presidency," the poll said.

A little more than half of the voters said Trump would “definitely” beat President Joe Biden, while for Haley it was 32 per cent.

The poll -- conducted between December 8 -15 on a representative sample of 855 registered voters in New Hampshire -- also gauged how the Republican voters in the state felt toward each candidate.

Haley is overwhelmingly seen as the most likable, receiving 55 per cent of the vote, and DeSantis falls in second, holding 37 per cent of the vote.

Trump and Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are on the third position, holding 36 per cent of the vote.

A majority of voters also said Haley is the most reasonable of the candidates -- 51 per cent voted for her, while 37 per cent said DeSantis was the most reasonable.

Trump was next in line with 36 per cent votes.

According to the poll, 54 per cent felt that Trump is the most prepared, and Haley just fell one per cent short.

While Haley doesn't think her former boss is the right person to be president at the moment, nearly 70 per cent saw Trump as a strong leader, while for Haley it was 41 per cent.

Trump has also consolidated his already commanding lead in Iowa with nearly all the Republican voters in the state saying that things were better when he was President.

Trump's backers in Iowa were also the most firm in their choice as most described their support as "very strong — I've decided", the CBS poll said.