from the attached Boston Globe article...
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Two weeks before the New Hampshire presidential primary, Donald Trump holds a nearly 20 percentage point lead over Nikki Haley, but would lose a general election rematch with President Biden by roughly 7 points, a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA Today poll found.
Voters in the swing state said they were worried about immigration and the economy, but their biggest concern was one Biden has made a centerpiece of his campaign — the future of American democracy.
In the Republican race, 46 percent of likely voters said they intend to vote for the former president, compared to 27 percent who support Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor whose support has surged in recent weeks and who now has the backing of popular New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is in third with 12 percent, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 8 percent.
But Haley might have trouble making up any more ground: About 8 out of 10 GOP primary voters said they’re unlikely to change their minds before the Jan. 23 primary, according to the survey. To close the gap, Haley would probably need several things to break her way, including Christie deciding to drop out, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. He noted that the poll showed Christie’s supporters would break by a 7-to-1 margin to her over Trump.
“Governor Sununu’s endorsement gets her in the red zone, within 20 [points]. But Governor Sununu can’t get her to the goal line,” Paleologos said. “It’s not impossible, but it’s improbable right now that she beats [Trump] in New Hampshire.”
Overall, the findings offer a glimmer of optimism for hand-wringing Democrats after recent polls showing Biden trailing Trump nationally and in some key swing states. His stronger showing in the New Hampshire poll challenges the narrative that voters are uninspired by the 81-year-old incumbent even if many of his policies remain broadly popular.
Nearly 64 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said they plan to write in Biden’s name on the ballot, after he declined to formally enter the primary because New Hampshire rebelled against his push to make South Carolina’s contest the first in the nation. Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota received 6 percent support and author Marianne Williamson was at 2 percent.
In the hypothetical general election showdown, Biden received nearly 42 percent to Trump’s 34 percent, among 1,000 likely voters, nearly identical to Biden’s victory margin in New Hampshire in 2020. Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notched 8 percent.
A deep enthusiasm gap separates the front-runners among their party’s primary voters; 34 percent of GOP primary voters were “very enthusiastic” about Trump, compared to just 18 percent of Democratic primary voters who said the same about Biden.
Asked the most important issue facing the country, roughly one-quarter said immigration and 17 percent cited the economy. But nearly 30 percent of likely New Hampshire voters chose “future of American democracy.”
The issue hurts Trump, who has spent years attacking democratic norms and enters the primary season stamped as an insurrectionist by prosecutors, election officials, and a state Supreme Court for encouraging the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol building. Nearly half of Democrats in the poll — 49 percent — said democracy was their top concern, along with 29 percent of independents. Republican voters did not, for the most part, share the disquiet: Just 11 percent named the fate of democracy as their top issue.
“It’s not about enthusiasm. It’s about democracy,” said Ralph Mecheau, a 69-year-old independent voter from Bow who said he plans to vote for Christie in the Republican primary but would vote for Biden in a head-to-head matchup with Trump.
Mecheau said that this election season, he created his own red, white, and blue buttons that read: “I’m Voting for the Constitution.”
“I know what it means to take an oath,” said Mecheau, an Air Force veteran. “I’m certainly not willing to put in a guy who wants to be an authoritarian.”
The poll of 1,000 voters — conducted by live calls to landlines and cellphones between Wednesday and Sunday — has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The survey coincided with the three-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and Biden’s high-profile speech Friday in Pennsylvania, where he framed the election as “all about” whether American democracy will survive.
That pitch may not resonate everywhere, but it does for many in New Hampshire, said Paleologos, the pollster.
“In New Hampshire, that’s a catalyst for Democratic voters,” he said.
But the poll indicates Trump has the more passionate fan base.
“He’s the only one that I find really truly loves America and the people,” said Sue Sevener, 72, of Derry. She ranked immigration as her biggest issue and said she believes Trump will stop the flow of migrants across the southern border. Nearly half of respondents described that surge as “an emergency situation” and another 32 percent called it a major problem.
Roughly half of Republicans said immigration was their main concern, more than double the number of GOP voters who cited any other issue.
Sevener, a registered Republican, also believes that the Jan. 6 attack “was a staged setup” and that Trump is being unfairly persecuted by his opponents.
“Other than Christ himself, I’ve never seen a man take so much abuse and attacks as President Trump,” she said.
Voters remain concerned about the economy but it’s not in the top two as inflation has declined sharply since hitting a four-decade high in 2022 and many forecasters say a recession is no longer likely this year. About 56 percent of respondents — and nearly nine in 10 Republicans — said they are not seeing those improvements reflected in their lives. About 61 percent said they were eating out less often, 51 percent said they were reducing their home heating and electricity costs, and about 43 percent said they were cutting back on groceries.
Larry Isaacs, 68, a body shop manager from Pelham, said his finances have gotten worse under Biden.
“I know he’s trying to say unemployment is so low now but . . . inflation is killing us,” the Republican said. “Food shopping is a joke. I see what we’re getting for the money.”
About 53 percent of respondents disapprove of how Biden is handling his job and 65 percent said the nation is on the wrong track.
In New Hampshire, the Democratic effort to convince voters to write in Biden’s name has replaced the traditional trappings of a campaign. About 18 percent of likely primary voters said they were still “very enthusiastic” about Biden being the nominee. But only a narrow slice of Democratic voters are thrilled to have Biden on the ballot, with 10 percent saying they were “very unenthusiastic” and 15 percent falling exactly in the middle on a scale of 1 to 10.
Young and independent voters are particularly down on Biden, with 18 and 27 percent, respectively, saying they were very unenthused with Biden as the nominee.
Christina Silcox, a 48-year-old registered Democrat, said she is likely to write in Biden’s name even though she feels Democrats “need new blood.”
“I don’t want it to sound ageist, but I’m tired of old white men,” said Silcox, of Hollis. “It saddens because we should have candidates that have people wanting to go to the polls. And again, I love Joe Biden. I just think his time may have passed in the White House. I’m very concerned that we would end up with Trump again.”
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With the possibility of 3 of Trump's trials getting started before November, the awareness of his assault on our democracy...as well as hjs Racism, Misogyny and Ineptitude, will only increase.
Link: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/09/metro/boston-globe-suffolk-usa-today-poll/
Thank God for Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Speaks. volumes about the intelligence level,(low) of this country.I can't imagine a dog voting for him.Not exactly a Mensa canditate
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Strategy to keep you away from discussing real issues of the day.Id like to think our system has enough checks and balances to preserve democracy.The. real proof that DEMS are using this as a subterfuge, is that they are using Michelle for this issue, she's terrified remember.Im terrified of her, she's as qualifed to be Pres as much as you and I are., correction, less qualified.