McCain Lead Shrinks in New Hampshire

Editor: Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

Reuters/c-Span/zogby N.H. Daily Tracking Poll

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire - Republican John McCain holds a shrinking lead in New Hampshire three days before the state's presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Most of the polling in the four-day tracking survey was taken before the Iowa caucuses on Thursday, when Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee sailed to wins in the opening test of the presidential campaign.

In New Hampshire, Republican McCain's lead over rival Mitt Romney fell by two points to 32 percent against 30 percent. Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, gained two points to 12 percent.

"Overall the numbers have not moved that much but there was the beginning of a post-Iowa bounce for Obama and Huckabee," pollster John Zogby said. "We will see more tomorrow but I think we will clearly see them make gains."

The rolling poll of 887 likely Republican voters was taken Tuesday through Friday. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday is the next battleground in the state-by-state process of choosing Republican candidates for November's election to replace President George W. Bush.

The state is vital to efforts by Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, to revitalize his campaign after a disappointing showing in Iowa.

About 7 percent of Republicans remain undecided in the New Hampshire poll.

Among Republicans, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was at 9 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul was at 7 percent and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. California Rep. Duncan Hunter was at less than 1 percent.

Independents, who can participate in either party's primary in New Hampshire, were vital to McCain's win in the state in 2000 but appear to be leaning toward Democrats this year, Zogby said.

"We're seeing about ... one-quarter of the Republican vote coming from independents," he said.

McCain was the top Republican choice for independents at 42 percent, well ahead of Romney at 29 percent.

The rolling tracking poll will continue each day until New Hampshire's vote on Tuesday. In a rolling poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped in order to track changing momentum.

Source: Reuters

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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