The latest Granite State poll by WMUR and the University of New Hampshire, released late Tuesday, shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a strong lead among New Hampshire Democrats while Granite State Republicans are more divided as the 2016 presidential race starts to take shape.
Clinton has an overwhelming lead, taking 62 percent of New Hampshire Democrats. Vice President Joe Biden places a distant second with 8 percent. Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts places third with 5 percent but he announced last month that he would not run for president in 2016. Newark Mayor Cory Booker took fourth with 2 percent but he announced last week that he will not run for president. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York garnered 1 percent. The other candidates -- U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand of New York, Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Gov. Martin OMalley of Maryland -- took less than 1 percent each.
The poll finds Clinton is widely popular with New Hampshire Democrats with a net favorability of 59 percent. Asked if there was any candidate they would not vote for, 10 percent of New Hampshire Democrats said Biden, 4 percent said Cuomo while 3 percent said Clinton, Bayh and Patrick.
New Hampshire Republicans are much more 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 U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., 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. In recent months, Rubio has drawn fire from conservatives for his prominent role in supporting immigration reform.
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 and 190 likely Democratic primary voters. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
