Marco Rubio Sinking in New Hampshire 2016 Poll

The latest Granite State poll by WMUR and the University of New Hampshire was released late on Tuesday and it shows U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sinking in New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary. Rubio is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. In recent months. Rubio has drawn fire from conservatives for his prominent role in supporting immigration reform.

The poll finds New Hampshire Republicans divided on who they want to see as their partys nominee in 2016. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey leads the pack with 21 percent followed by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., with 16 percent. Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida is in third with 10 percent followed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with 8 percent and Rubio with 6 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is tied with two Texans -- Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz -- in sixth with 4 percent each. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin takes 2 percent. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and two Ohio Republicans -- Gov. John Kasich and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman -- all take less than 1 percent.

This is a major step back for Rubio who took 22 percent in the Granite State poll back in February and 14 percent in an April one. His net favorability with New Hampshire Republicans dropped from 50 percent in February and 51 percent in April to 33 percent in this most recent poll. There is some good news for Rubio as only 2 percent of New Hampshire Republicans say they will never vote for Rubio.

Andrew Smith, the director of the UNH Survey Center, noted Rubio is not the only candidate sinking in New Hampshire.

Rubio and Christie have seen their net favorability ratings drop significantly Rubios has dropped 18 percentage points since April and Christies has dropped 14 percentage points since February, said Smith. These drops are indications that Rubio and Christie have alienated significant segments of the Republican base.

The poll of 516 New Hampshire adults was taken between July 18-29 with a sample of 200 likely Republican primary voters. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.