Polls suggest NH voters may re-split their tickets

Three recent polls suggest New Hampshire voters may be inclined to choose a Republican governor on Tuesday over supporting the Democratic presidential candidate, as they did in 2016 and 2020, although the outcome is far from certain.

University of New Hampshire Research Center published results Sunday, which shows Vice President Kamala D. Harris facing former President Donald. J. Trump by 5 percentage points in the race for the state’s four Electoral College votes.

Two other recent studies by Saint Anselm College Research Center and UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinionsimilarly showed Harris ahead of Trump by 5 and 7 points, respectively. All three leads were greater than the margin of error.

The same polls showed that former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, the Republican candidate for governor of New Hampshire, has a slight lead over former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, the Democratic candidate.

Ayotte led Craig by four points UNH survey and 3 points in the Saint Anselm College poll, more than the margin of error. In the poll, UMass Lowell led by 2 points, which was within the adjusted margin of error.

Pollsters also asked potential voters what they expected. The results reflect a sense of uncertainty. According to the UNH poll, when it came to the presidential race, 42 percent said Harris was most likely to win the election, 42 percent said Trump was most likely to win and 15 percent were unsure.

During the governor’s race, Ayotte’s supporters expressed confidence in her chances of success: 84 percent said she had the best chance of winning. Her opponent’s supporters were less certain. Among Craig supporters, 47 percent said Craig was most likely to win, 27 percent of Ayotte supporters were most likely to win and 27 percent were unsure.

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Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @reporterporter.