Three candidates have increased their support after the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday, according to a new poll.
The debate hosted eight candidates apart from Donald Trump, who has boycotted the debates citing his lead and whose interview with Tucker Carlson aired during the debate.
While support for Trump declined by 6 percentage points, candidates Nikki Haley, Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis saw an increase in their support, according to a new poll released by Emerson College on Monday.
Haley saw her support increase by 5 percentage points, from 2% to 7%, according to the poll. Haley, who served as the cabinet-ranked ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, has been acclaimed by some conservative commentators for her debate performance — pointing to her remarks about abortion, foreign policy, appropriations earmarks and Social Security reform.
Apart from Haley, Pence, who was Trump’s running mate twice previously, increased his support from 3% to 7%, according to the poll. Pence gained attention during the debate for his support for a six-week abortion limit, which Haley opposed, as well as his criticism of pro-Trump candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
“I’ve got news for you, Vivek. I’ve been in the hallway and West Wing. … Now is not the time for on-the-job training. … We don’t need to bring in a rookie,” Pence said, chastising Ramaswamy’s lack of prior elected office.
Ramaswamy’s support declined from 10% to 9%, according to the poll, even as many commentators termed him the “winner” of the debate. He remains ahead of Pence and Haley, the poll reports.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to a Kaplan Strategies poll, which showed him earning 13% support — ahead of DeSantis and second in the race, to Trump, overall.
The candidate with the smallest increase was DeSantis, whose support rose from 10% to 12%. DeSantis, who is currently in second position behind Trump, was criticized by commentators for his inability to attract attention during the debate, with Ramasawamy being the target of most other candidate attacks.
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