Polls show Haley closing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire ahead of Jan. 23 primary

Sioux City, Iowa — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is working feverishly to close the gap between her and former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, with new polling showing Haley's support growing in what could be a determinative contest in New Hampshire.

Just two weeks out from the state's first-in-the-nation primary, a new CNN poll out Tuesday, conducted by the University of New Hampshire, shows Haley cutting into Trump's lead, garnering 32% of the vote to his 39% and trailing him now by just seven points in the state, slicing her deficit from the last University of New Hampshire poll by 12 points.

The latest numbers are a positive signal for Haley, who has received several key endorsements over the last month from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and the powerful Americans for Prosperity Action, backed by billionaire GOP megadonor Charles Koch.

«It's another indication that there may be some real movement toward Haley and that she's emerging as the main alternative to Trump,» Christopher Galderi, a professor at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, who studies the state's primary, said of the recent University of New Hampshire poll.

Haley's biggest gains appear to have come from undeclared voters, a key constituency in the fiercely independent Live Free or Die state, where she garnered support from 43% of those surveyed — up 18 points since the last poll in November and the largest share of any other candidate.

According to Dave Carney, a veteran New Hampshire-based GOP strategist who's worked on several presidential campaigns, Sununu's endorsement likely went a long way with the state's undeclared voters, with whom he is particularly popular.

«I think if she gets a hunk of the independent or