President Obama has opened up a 5-point lead in New Hampshire, according to a new poll released Friday from New England College. Obama sees 49.5 percent while Republican candidate Mitt Romney gets 44.4 percent, a bump up from the 3-point advantage Obama had in the College’s previous poll released a week ago. From their analysis:
“The gender gap exists with President Obama maintaining a strong lead among women; while men have a more competitive split between the two candidates,” explains Dr. Ben Tafoya, director of the Polling Center in NEC’s Center for Civic Engagement. “If Governor Romney is going to close the gap on the President he will need to perform significantly better among women.”
The President has strong support from Democrats leads among Independents; while Governor Romney has strong support among Republicans. Mr. Obama holds 95% percent support among Democrats; Mr. Romney holds 89% support among Republicans. In the race for Independent voters in New Hampshire, the President has a 49%-39% edge.
The president has started to re-open a lead in the state after Romney made gains there in early-October.
The poll used 1,017 automated interviews with likely New Hampshire voters conducted Oct. 29-31. It has a sampling error of 3.7 percent.
