Jan 7, 2008 4:10 pm US/Eastern
CBS News Poll: Obama Surges Past Clinton In N.H.
New Poll Shows Obama With A 7-Point Lead Over Clinton On Eve Of Primary
NASHUA, N.H. (CBS) ―
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has opened up a seven-point lead on Hillary Clinton among New Hampshire voters on the eve of that state's primary, according to a new CBS News poll.
Among likely Democratic primary voters, Obama leads Clinton 35 percent to 28 percent with John Edwards getting 19 percent in the poll. The poll re-interviewed the same group of voters that CBS News surveyed in November. In that poll, Clinton led Obama 39 percent to 19 percent with Edwards getting just nine percent support.
By winning the Iowa caucuses, Obama appears to have put questions about his electability to rest for many New Hampshire voters. Forty-two percent in the latest poll said they believe Obama has the best chance of winning the general election, up from just 11 percent in November. In the earlier poll, 72 percent gave Clinton the best chance of winning but 41 percent of those same voters now say so.
And Obama has a large lead among self-described independents, an important block of voters in New Hampshire. Forty-one percent of independents support Obama, compared to just 24 percent who say they are backing Clinton. Clinton maintains a slight lead among Democrats, 33 percent to 30 percent for Obama. More than four in ten likely voters who say they will vote in the Democratic primary are independents.
Both Obama and Clinton are seen as agents of change, a driving theme of the campaign. While 63 percent of respondents said Obama can bring "real change" to Washington, 60 percent said the same for Clinton. But Obama has made headway among New Hampshire voters on the question of experience. Fifty-one percent said Obama is prepared for the presidency, up from 37 percent in the November poll. Eighty-one percent agreed that Clinton is prepared to take over the Oval Office, a number statistically unchanged since the previous survey.
Since November, 26 percent of likely Democratic voters have changed their minds about who to support and the latest survey indicates the race remains fluid. Twenty-eight percent of likely Democratic voters said their minds could still change and nine percent said they remain undecided.
On the Republican side, CBS News reached too small a number of Republican primary voters from the November poll to create a reliable estimate for that race. On the individual level, however, John McCain picked up supporters from other candidates, while Mitt Romney lost some of his November supporters. Mike Huckabee's win in Iowa did not seem to gain him many new voters in New Hampshire.
An exclusive new WBZ/Franklin Pierce poll from Sunday shows Democratic candidate Barack Obama has closed the gap with opponent Hillary Clinton, while John McCain continues to hold nearly a 10 percent lead on the Republican side.
In a poll of Democratic voters, 34 percent of say they would vote for Obama if the election were held today -- that's six percent more than the last WBZ/Franklin Pierce poll, which was taken only four days ago.
On the other side, McCain appears to have strengthened his lead over rival Mitt Romney. The Arizona senator tops the poll with 38 percent, while Romney comes in with 29 percent, which is 2 percent less than the four days ago.
Huckabee comes in at a distant third with 9 percent, but it seems he received a modest bounce from the Iowa results.
Support for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has significantly dropped over the past 11 months. Giuliani started off strong with 28 percent back in March 2007, but according to the latest poll results, only 8 percent of those polled would vote for Giuliani if the election was today.
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