Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican presidential field by wide margins in New Hampshire, but two of his opponents, Chris Christie and Ted Cruz, are rising rapidly in Granite State polls.
Christie, New Jersey’s brusque two-term governor, has jumped from ninth place to fourth and reached double digits in the first-in-the-nation primary state with 10 percent support among GOP voters in Public Policy Polling’s latest survey. Similarly, Cruz, the anti-establishment Texas senator, has gone from sixth place at 8 percent to second place at 13 percent since October.
With 27 percent support among New Hampshire Republicans, Trump remains unchanged from where he stood two months ago. In third place, with 11 percent support and well within the margin of error against Cruz, is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Ben Carson (9 percent), John Kasich (9 percent), and Carly Fiorina (6 percent), are the only other candidates polling above 5 percent in the Granite State.
Christie’s unforeseen surge follows a key endorsement of the New Jersey governor from New Hampshire’s Union Leader and renewed support for his no-nonsense foreign policy as national security has moved to the forefront of the 2016 conversation.
In addition to entering the top tier in New Hampshire, the governor’s favorability ratings have virtually flip-flopped since August. Christie now boasts a net-positive favorability rating of 61 percent-22 percent — the highest of any GOP candidate in the state. Three months ago, 46 percent of New Hampshire Republicans held negative views of Christie while 35 percent viewed him favorably.
The PPP survey of 454 Republican primary voters was conducted between Nov. 30-Dec. 2. Results contain a margin of error plus or minus 4.6 percent.
