Haley surpasses DeSantis in New Hampshire poll

Nikki Haley’s momentum looks like it’s for real. A new poll of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire shows it’s the former South Carolina governor — not Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — running second in the first primary state.

Haley beat DeSantis 19 percent to 10 percent in a Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA TODAY survey released on Wednesday morning.

But they both remain far behind the frontrunner, Donald Trump. The former president leads his Republican rivals with 49 percent support in the poll of 500 likely GOP primary voters that was conducted after the second debate and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The poll is the latest measure of Haley's bounce — and DeSantis' backslide — in the GOP primary, where the former U.N. ambassador has ticked up in polls following the first two debates and is drawing increased donor interest.

It comes just days before GOP candidates will flood New Hampshire next week, starting with the former president on Monday and most of the rest of the field at a weekend cattle call hosted by the state GOP.

DeSantis’ freefall in New Hampshire — he once led Trump in the state, back in a January poll — has opened up a real race for second place in the first-in-the-nation primary state that could energize Republicans critical of Trump. And it's Haley who's emerging from the pack as she capitalizes on rising interest in her candidacy following her standout debate performances.

But Trump remains immovable atop the field. And no other candidate cracked double digits in the Suffolk/Globe/USA TODAY survey. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie notched 6 percent support, while entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott got roughly 4 percent apiece. Former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum trailed even further behind, with just 1 percent each.