Dem
51
GOP
49
Since Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) dislikes Donald Trump (albeit, not as much as he dislikes EVERY Democrat), this day was seemingly inevitable, and now it has arrived. Yesterday, Sununu endorsed Haley as his preferred candidate for president.
Of the three remaining candidates who are even remotely viable, Sununu's politics align much more closely with Haley's than with those of Trump or Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). And now, Haley has pretty well cemented her status as the #2 candidate, since she's about even with DeSantis and her numbers are generally trending upward. So, no surprises here.
With all of this said, Trump is polling at around 44% in the Granite State, while Haley is polling a little below 19%. We are unaware of any politician, past or present, who can flip 15% of the electorate to their chosen candidate. So, barring something very unexpected, Sununu's support primarily means that Haley won't lose quite as badly as she otherwise would have. Maybe her deficit will be 20 points, instead of 25.
Meanwhile, the endorsement is very bad news for Chris Christie, to the extent that it's possible for a hopeless candidate to get very bad news. He was all-in on New Hampshire, and is actually polling in third place there, at 13% (DeSantis is at 10%). If Christie had gotten Sununu's backing, he might have pulled off a second-place upset, and might have been able to keep going for a little longer. But now, not so much. With the former New Jersey governor unlikely to make another debate stage (assuming there IS another debate stage), the game is up. (Z)