According to an NH1 Pulse Poll released Wednesday, Walker has the backing of 21.2% of those who say they’re likely to vote in next year’s GOP presidential primary. The automated survey indicates Jeb Bush in second place, with 14.4% saying they’d support the former two-term Florida governor if the Feb. 9, 2016 primary was held now.
The poll was conducted Monday and Tuesday, after Romney’s announcement last Friday that he wouldn’t make a third run for the White House. The 2012 GOP nominee and former Massachusetts governor, who owns a vacation home along Lake Winnipesaukee, is very well known in New Hampshire and would have been the front-runner in the primary if he had launched a campaign.
A NH1 Pulse Poll conducted two weeks ago put Romney at 29% support, far ahead of the rest of the field. Bush was at 11% and Walker was at 8% in that same survey.