Poll: Hassan, Lamontagne Tied in N.H. Gov. Race

By Steven Shepard  //  October 2, 2012 | 6:39 p.m.

Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican Ovide Lamontagne are running neck-and-neck in New Hampshire's open gubernatorial race, a new WMUR-TV Granite State Poll released late Tuesday shows. Results of the poll released on Monday showed President Obama opening up a significant lead in the state, but Tuesday's release suggests that, while the increase in Democratic enthusiasm that propelled Obama is helping Hassan somewhat, the race remains tight, with a sizable percentage of voters still undecided.

Hassan leads Lamontagne in the poll, 42 percent to 40 percent. Two percent of likely voters prefer another candidate, and 16 percent are undecided. Hassan's lead is well within the poll's margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

The new poll is the first WMUR survey conducted since each candidate won their respective party's primary last month. Hassan, however, got a greater boost from her victory, earning valuable -- and positive -- name ID. Now, 38 percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion of the former state senator, versus just 22 percent unfavorable. In the pre-primary poll, only 16 percent viewed Hassan favorably, compared to 9 percent who had an unfavorable opinion of her.

Lamontagne's image ratings are more mixed. Thirty-six percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion of him, up from 30 percent in August. But a third view him unfavorably, more than the 20 percent who had an unfavorable opinion of him in the previous poll. That previous poll showed Lamontagne with an insignificant advantage on the ballot test, 33 percent to 31 percent, with 35 percent undecided. The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted Sept. 27-30 by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

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