Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has risen to double digits and is now within the margin of error of second-place candidate Ben Carson in New Hampshire, according to the latest Monmouth University poll.
Rubio, who delivered a standout performance in the third GOP debate last Wednesday, has jumped from seventh to third place in the first-in-the-nation primary state, and now has the support of 13 percent of people in the latest poll. The Florida senator is led by Donald Trump, who leads all with 26 percent, and Carson, who has 16 percent.
Both Trump and Carson experienced slight declines in the first post-debate poll of Granite State Republicans.
“Marco Rubio’s standout performance in the last debate seems to have paid dividends in a contest that was supposed to be dominated by his former mentor Jeb Bush,” Patrick Murray, director of the New Jersey-based Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement Monday.
“Rubio’s new-found support seems to be a little softer than for other candidates at the front of the pack, but it is not particularly solid for anybody,” he added.
The freshman senator, who has visited New Hampshire just nine times since launching his presidential bid in mid-April, has also seen an uptick in his favorability ratings. Sixty-two percent of GOP voters in the state now view Rubio favorably, marking a 12-point increase since last month.
Carson still leads the Republican field as the most-liked candidate in New Hampshire, though his favorability rating has dropped nine points from 73 percent to 64 percent. Trump, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich have also seen their ratings slip since September.
Meanwhile, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have seen slight improvements in their favorability ratings. Forty-four percent of voters now view Bush favorably, up five points since last month, while Christie has turned his previous net-negative rating around and is now viewed favorably by 54 percent of voters.
Only 20 percent of Granite State Republicans said they are completely decided on which candidate they’ll vote for in their state’s nominating contest on Feb. 9. Thirty-nine percent said they strongly prefer one candidate but remain open, and 19 percent described themselves as “really undecided.”
The poll of 410 likely voters in New Hampshire’s Republican primary was conducted from Oct. 29-Nov. 1. Results contain a margin of error plus or minus 4.8 percent.
