December 1, 2007 (Rasmussen Reports) – In New Hampshire, home to the first-in-the-nation Presidential Primary, Hillary Clinton’s lead over Barack Obama is now measured in single digits.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone poll of the state’s Likely Primary Voters shows Clinton with 33% of the vote while Obama attracts 26%. John Edwards is the top choice for 15% while Bill Richardson earns 9% of the vote. Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich are each preferred by 4%.
Clinton’s seven-point advantage is down from a ten-point lead in early November. In October, Clinton held a sixteen-point advantage over Obama. A month earlier, Clinton was ahead by twenty-three percentage points.
Clinton leads Obama by fourteen among women but trails by three among men. Last month, she led by seventeen among women and was tied among men.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Clinton’s supporters are “certain†they will vote for her. Sixty-three percent (63%) of Obama’s supporters are that certain along with 49% of those who plan to vote for Edwards.
Nationally, Clinton continues to hold a solid lead in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Clinton, Obama, and Edwards are essentially in a three-way tie in Iowa. Iowa’s caucuses are scheduled for Thursday, January 3 while New Hampshire’s Primary will take place the following Tuesday, January 8.
Thirty-six percent (36%) of the Likely Democratic Primary Voters name the War in Iraq as the most important voting issue. Twenty-four percent (24%) say it’s the economy while 19% named health care.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of New Hampshire’s Likely Democratic Primary Voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton. Eighty-percent (80%) of women have a favorable opinion of her, a view shared by just 66% of men. Forty-six percent (46%) of women have a Very Favorable opinion of Clinton while only 9% have a Very Unfavorable view. Among men, just 29% have a Very Favorable opinion while 15% have a Very Unfavorable view.
Overall, 81% offer a positive assessment of both Obama and Edwards. They also earn better reviews from women, but the gap is not as big as it is for Clinton.
Richardson is viewed favorably by 68%, Biden by 55%, and Kucinich by 42%.
Fifty-four percent (54%) believe that Clinton will win New Hampshire and 55% believe she will be the party’s nominee. Just 25% believe Obama will wrest the nomination away from her and 8% believe Edwards will win in the end.