Polls: Hillary Clinton Leading Democratic Presidential Candidates in New Hampshire

A new poll shows Hillary Clinton continuing to maintain a strong lead over the other Democratic candidates for president in New Hampshire. The poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center between November 2 and November 7^th. The results were derived from a survey of 400 New Hampshire voters who were identified as likely to vote in the state's Democratic presidential primary.

The poll shows Senator Hillary Clinton leading the pack in New Hampshire. Voters were asked to answer the question, "If the Democratic primary president were held today, which of the following would you support for the Democratic nominations ... (list of the candidates)." 35 percent of the voters chose Clinton over the other Democratic candidates for president. But support for Clinton has slipped a bit in the polls in New Hampshire. A UNH Survey Center poll asked a New Hampshire voters the same question back in September and 41 percent of those surveyed chose Clinton over the other candidates at that time.

Both Barack Obama and John Edwards appear to have made gains in New Hampshire since September. In the September poll a total of 19 percent of the voters identified Obama as the candidate they would vote for. The latest poll by UNH showed 21 percent of voters supporting Obama. Similarly, support for John Edwards increased from 11 percent in September to 15 percent in the latest poll. Support for Bill Richardson among likely voters in New Hampshire also leapt from 6 percent in September to 10 percent in November.

When asked which of the Democratic candidates for president was the strongest leader 45 percent of the voters surveyed identified Clinton as their choice. Another 17 percent of the voters chose Barack Obama. John Edwards was picked by 8 percent of the voters and 6 percent went with Bill Richardson.

The survey asked the voters to pick which candidate they found to be the most trustworthy. Barack Obama was picked as the most trustworthy by 26 percent of the voters. Edwards and Clinton were tied at 19 percent. Only 8 percent thought Richardson was the most trustworthy.

Voters were asked to identify which candidate they thought had the most experience. Clinton led in this area as well, with 47 percent of voters selecting the former first lady over her rivals. 14 percent picked Richardson and 10 percent of chose Edwards. Only 4 percent of voters thought Barack Obama was the candidate with the most experience.

When asked to decide which candidate woulds be best able to defeat the Republican nominee in the general election for president in 2008 53 percent of the voters who participating in the survey picked Hillary Clinton. Following far behind were Obama, who was picked by 17 percent, and Edwards, who as chosen by 10 percent of the participating voters.

The survey also asked the participating voters to identify which of the candidates would bring needed change to the U.S. 31 percent chose Clinton. 21 percent of the voters chose Obama , and 13 percent picked Edwards. Only 5 percent identified Richardson as the Democratic candidate who would bring needed change to the U.S.

The poll seemed to indicate that voters were more divided on the question of which of the candidates had shown the best judgment. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each won the support of 24 percent of the voters in this category. Out of the remaining voters 15 percent picked Edwards and 10 percent picked Richardson.

Finally, those who participated in the poll were asked to identify the candidate the were least likely to vote for. Interestingly, Clinton led the three frontrunners in this category as well. 22 percent of the voters picked Clinton as the candidate they were least likely to vote for. 17 percent chose Edwards, 15 percent Obama. 40 percent chose Richardson.