Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has reversed his slide among New Hampshire voters and would now beat Hillary Rodham Clinton if the election were held today, according to a new state poll.
Dartmouth College’s eighth annual State of the State Poll also showed that Clinton would lose by an even wider margin to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a significant blow to the Democrat and the latest proof that the GOP race is already coming down to a Bush-Walker duel.
Walker 38.7 percent-Clinton 34.8 percent.
Bush 36.9 percent-Clinton 34.3 percent.
Jeb Bush in New Hampshire. AP Photo
The survey of 335 registered New Hampshire voters was conducted by Dartmouth students through the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences.
Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. AP Photo
Democrats, however, note that the election is more than a year away and the poll comes after Clinton has been socked with unflattering headlines while both Bush and Walker have been in the state wooing voters.
The school said that Bush “made up a lot of ground” over last year’s poll when he trailed Clinton by 21 points.
“She has work to do in New Hampshire,” said Ronald Shaiko, a senior fellow and the associate director of the Rockefeller Center. He said she is having trouble especially among independent voters.
Scott Walker in New Hampshire. AP Photo
He added: “In the seven trial heats, Clinton beats only [Sen. Ted] Cruz and [Mike] Huckabee among undeclared/independent registered voters in the sample by eight points and four points, respectively. In last year’s poll, Clinton beat Huckabee by 13 points among undeclared voters. She also beat [Sen. Rand] Paul by five points, [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie by three points and Bush by 21 points. This year, Bush beat Clinton among undeclared voters by nine points.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
