SENATE FIGHT A DEAD HEAT
New Hampshire appears headed for another tight U.S. Senate battle, with incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte running even against Democratic opponent Gov. Maggie Hassa n , a new Franklin Pierce University/ Boston Herald poll shows. Ayotte, who Democrats have targeted in their efforts to regain control of the Senate, is narrowly leading Hassan by a 48-47 percent margin in a general election matchup — a statistical dead heat — according to the poll. The Ayotte-Hassan fight is one of the marquee Senate races this fall and along with a closely-fought presidential contest should make New Hampshire a critical battleground in November. Ayotte remains relatively popular despite a wave of Democratic attack ads hitting her over the last few months, the Franklin Pierce/ Herald poll found. Fortynine percent of all voters say they have a favorable opinion of the Republican incumbent, while 38 percent have a negative view, the poll reveals.
Hassan, who is also also getting pummeled with negative ads, appears to be slightly more popular among voters, with 53 percent giving her favorable marks and just 33 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion.
The Democratic governor is beating Ayotte among independent voters by a 51-42 margin, according to the poll, underscoring the Republican’s vulnerability.
But Ayotte’s support among Republicans remains strong despite some criticism within her own party. The poll shows she’s winning 84 percent of likely Republican voters.
The race for the New Hampshire governor’s seat — which Hassan is vacating — is wide open, the poll shows, with most voters undecided at this early stage of the race.
Nearly three-quarters of likely Democratic voters say they are unsure who they will vote for in the primary, while Republican Chris Sununu holds a big lead over his possible GOP rivals.
Sununu is getting 44 percent of the vote among GOP primary voters and his nearest rival, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, is drawing just 10 percent of the vote, according to the Franklin Pierce/Herald poll. But more than a third of likely Republican primary voters are undecided.
The poll of 405 likely New Hampshire voters was conducted from May 25-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
In the Senate fight, the poll shows that the deadlock over President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court could become a liability for Ayotte.
Just over half of all New Hampshire voters say they strongly believe the Senate should hold confirmation hearings on Gar- land, while just 26 percent strongly oppose the hearings.
Ayotte has supported GOP Senate leaders in blocking hearings for Garland until after Obama leaves office in January 2017.