Governor’s Race Tight with Ayotte at 42%, Craig 41%
10/17/2024
Vice President Kamala Harris holds a 9-point apparent lead over former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House, according to a UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion and YouGov poll released Thursday. Harris stands at 50% while Trump is at 41% among 600 New Hampshire likely voters surveyed.
“These results are good news for the Harris campaign,” said Rodrigo Castro Cornejo, UMass Lowell political science assistant professor and assistant director of the Center for Public Opinion. “New Hampshire is a crucial state on her path to securing 270 electoral votes and her campaign appears to be on the right track in this state.”
No other candidate received more than 1% support while 6% of voters said they were undecided.
One sign Harris has taken a lead in New Hampshire can be seen in the favorability of the two candidates. The latest results show:
- 40% of respondents view Trump favorably while 55% view him unfavorably
- 50% of respondents have a favorable view of Harris while 43% say they view her unfavorably
The New Hampshire results contrast with a simultaneous Center for Public Opinion poll surveying likely Pennsylvania voters. There, the race is close between Harris (46%) and Trump (45%). Complete data, including results for the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, can be found at www.uml.edu/polls.
Granite State Gubernatorial Race
The race between Republican former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig, a former mayor of Manchester, is close at 42% to 41%, respectively. Libertarian candidate Stephen Villee has garnered 3% of support while 1% of respondents said they will vote for another candidate and 14% remain undecided.
“Even though the presidential race isn’t close, it’s sucking up all the attention in New Hampshire,” said UMass Lowell political science Associate Professor John Cluverius, Center for Public Opinion director of survey research and associate director. “With so little time left in the governor’s race, almost one in seven voters is undecided. Ayotte is well known, but Craig needs to convert undecided Harris voters to secure a win.”
Additional questions in the poll covered attitudes about the economy, abortion, foreign policy and a host of New Hampshire-centered topics.
Poll findings issued Thursday are the result of an online-based survey conducted Wednesday, Oct. 2, through Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. The poll carries a margin of error of plus/minus 4.83 percentage points.
The nonpartisan poll was independently funded by the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The survey was designed and analyzed by the university’s Center for Public Opinion and fielded by YouGov. Detailed poll results, including topline and full methodology, are available at www.uml.edu/polls.
UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion presents events and polling on political and social issues to provide opportunities for civic engagement, experiential learning and real-world research. The center is a member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative.
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