“There is no clear frontrunner in the Republican race.”
That’s how the latest WMUR Granite State Poll summed up the findings of its new New Hampshire survey, released late Thursday.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush led the field in the nation’s first primary state with 17 percent. Trailing were Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, 12 percent; Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, tied at 9 percent, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 8 percent.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida had 5 percent, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, 4 percent, and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New York businessman Donald Trump and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, tied at 2 percent.
“New Hampshire primary voters usually decide who they will vote for in the last weeks, or days of the campaign and it is no surprise that very few likely Republican primary voters currently have made up their minds about who they will support in 2016,” said the poll analysis.
Six percent of likely Republican Primary voters say they have definitely decided who they will back, 9 percent are leaning towards someone and 85 percent are still trying to make up their minds.
Walker would seem to have some upside, as he leads in net favorability, or the percentage who have a favorable opinion of him minus the percentage who have an unfavorable opinion. But, the poll noted, “he is still relatively unknown among Republican primary voters.”
Also doing well in favorability were Paul, Rubio and Carson.