Thread: Franklin Pierce/Herald poll: Trump still on top, but rivals surge

Franklin Pierce/Herald poll: Trump still on top, but rivals surge

Joe Battenfeld Thursday, December 17, 2015

A pack of more proven GOP contenders led by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz is surging closer to Donald Trump in New Hampshire, while Democrat Hillary Clinton has clawed back to a virtual tie with Bernie Sanders, a new Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald New Hampshire poll reveals.

Trump continues to hold a double-digit lead over the GOP field but Rubio, Cruz and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have made big gains while onetime phenom Ben Carson has plummeted to near the back of the pack, the poll shows.

On the Democratic side, Sanders’ double-digit lead has nearly evaporated and he tops Clinton only by a 48-46 percent margin — within the margin of error in the poll of 410 likely Democratic primary voters in the Granite State.

[B]Trump, the billionaire real estate tycoon, who has both electrified and outraged voters with positions like a ban on Muslim immigrants, is still getting 26 percent of likely GOP primary voters — only a 2-point drop from a Franklin PierceHerald poll in October.[/B
]
But Rubio and Cruz have jumped to second place, tied at 12 percent, the poll shows.

Christie has jumped 8 points since October and is now up to 11 percent, while even former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is still hanging in with 10 percent, according to the poll of 430 likely Republican voters in the Granite State. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is getting 8 percent of likely voters.

“Collectively these more mainstream candidates are having a resurgence,” said pollster R. Kelly Myers of RKM Research and Communications, which conducted the poll for Franklin Pierce and the Herald Dec. 13-17.

Carson, the neurosurgeon who had rocketed to near the top of the GOP field nationally and in Iowa, has dropped from 16 percent in October to just 5 percent in the new Franklin Pierce/Herald poll. Carly Fiorina has also lost ground and stands at 6 percent, while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is at 3 percent.

The results indicate that while outsider Trump still has a solid lead, more voters are turning to established and experienced GOP figures.

“The other two outsiders have completely fallen off the face of the earth,” pollster Myers said. “Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson are gone.”

Rubio’s surge is notable because he has campaigned less in New Hampshire yet still has the best favorability ratings of any GOP candidate.

Two-thirds of likely Republican primary voters say they view the Florida senator “very” or “somewhat” favorably, while just 17 percent have an unfavorable view — another sign of 
his potential strength in the Granite State.

Cruz’s gains in New Hampshire coincide with a surge in Iowa, yet one third of GOP voters in the Granite State have an unfavorable view of him.

Fifty-five percent of GOP voters have a favorable view of Trump, while 41 percent give him an unfavorable rating.

But Trump still easily beats his competitors on two key questions — who can better fight terrorism and who will most likely be the GOP nominee.

On the Democratic side, Clinton appears to have benefitted from Vice President Joe Biden leaving the race and overwhelming voter perception that she is going to be the Democratic nominee.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley remains mired at 2 percent support.

“I think there’s a little bit more inevitability,” Myers said.

Both Sanders and Clinton are viewed favorably by well over 80 percent of likely Democratic primary voters. The poll's margin of error is 4.7 percent for the Republicans and 4.8 percent for the Democrats.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_...t_rivals_surge