The more New Hampshire voters see of DeSantis, the less they like him: polling

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is losing his grip on his supporters in New Hampshire, polling shows.
• New Hampshire hosts the GOP's first primary election.

An average of polls from New Hampshire shows that voters in the state are less and less enthused by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis the more he visits the state.

Since announcing his intention to run for president in May 2023, DeSantis has visited New Hampshire on several occasions in an attempt to boost his support ahead of the first Republican presidential primary election in February 2024. It doesn't appear to be working.

According to an average of the four New Hampshire polls of the Republican primary field taken between January and March of 2023 that have been aggregated by FiveThirtyEight, DeSantis was averaging the support of 28% of Republicans over the course of the period.

After visiting the state and hobnobbing with locals, DeSantis' support has only dropped. According to an average of four more polls from between May and June 2023, he brought an average of 16% support from likely or registered voters.

There are a few reasons why this could be happening.

First, this sample could certainly be larger, and it's entirely possible that the early polls simply overestimated his support or the later polls are simply underestimating it. What appears to be a twelve-point swing against DeSantis is a fairly substantial shift, but that being said, state-level polls — especially in small states like New Hampshire — are prone to a little more variability than their national counterparts. Still, DeSantis hasn't been doing so hot nationally, either, and has seen his polling average dip by around ten points over the same period we're looking at in New Hampshire.

If we were to take the polling dip as an accurate reflection of the facts on the ground, though, plenty of things have happened that could be dimming DeSantis' once-bright star.

Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, was federally indicted on two separate occasions between March and June. This may have actually helped the former president in the polls — according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey from June, 81% of self-identified Republicans said they believe the most recent indictment (for allegedly improperly handling classified information) has been driven by politics.

Another reason could be DeSantis' widely reported position on abortion. In April 2023, DeSantis signed into effect one of the strictest laws in the country that's aimed at restricting abortion access, banning the practice after six weeks of pregnancy.

Voters in New Hampshire, however, may not be the most enthused by DeSantis' legislation.

According to a 2022 poll from St. Anselm College, which occurred after the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections granted by the Roe v. Wade case, 71% of respondents classified themselves as "pro-choice," compared to 25% who identified as "pro-life."

Finally, DeSantis may simply not be as charismatic or as elite of a retail politician as Trump is. In his short time campaigning in New Hampshire, according to Politico, he's already managed to rankle a major GOP women's group by scheduling an event at the same time it plans to host Trump.

DeSantis still has plenty of time to regain ground in the state holding the GOP's first primary, but if his pattern of support continues in the state, it may be Trump territory for good.