Nearly half of likely Democratic presidential primary voters in New Hampshire would be open to the idea of one or two other states holding their White House contests on the same day as the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary, according to a new public opinion poll.
New Hampshire’s tradition of holding the nation’s first presidential primary dates back a century. It’s a time-honored tradition – backed up by state law – that the Granite State cherishes but also has to vigorously defend every few years. And this cycle is no different – with an emphasis on the national Democratic Party’s increasingly diverse electorate, there have been numerous calls for a revamping of the system that allows Iowa and New Hampshire – two overwhelmingly white states – to kick off the presidential nominating calendar.
According to a poll from Monmouth University that was released Thursday, 46% of Granite State Democratic primary voters would be open to the state sharing the date of the primary with one or two other states. Thirty-one percent of those questioned opposed the suggestion.
Nearly half of those questioned said the traditional nominating calendar of Iowa and then New Hampshire holding the first two contests gives certain Democratic voters more influence than others in choosing the party’s presidential nominee – with nearly four in 10 saying it gives all types of Democrats equal footing.
More than six in 10 said that states like Iowa and New Hampshire have the right amount of influence in picking the presidential nominee. One in five said the two states had too much influence – with one in 10 saying Iowa and New Hampshire had too little influence.
“New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation status has taken on a mythic quality. But when you ask voters there about it, few seem willing to back the idea that their position on the calendar necessarily leads to a better outcome overall,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
With less than five weeks to go until the first-in-the-nation primary, the Monmouth poll indicates an extremely close contest in New Hampshire.
The survey indicates former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont essentially tied for the lead, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren of New Hampshire close behind.
The poll is in line with other recent surveys in New Hampshire and Iowa showing no clear frontrunner in the Democratic nomination battle.
According to the poll, Buttigieg stands at 20% support among registered Democrats and independents likely to vote in the Granite State’s Democratic primary – with Biden at 19% and Sanders at 18%. Buttigieg’s slight edge is well within the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Warren stands just a few percentage points back, at 15% support.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota stands at 6% in the poll, up 4 points from September.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and billionaire progressive advocate Tom Steyer are each at 4%, with tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang at 3%. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado’s at 2%, with Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey at 1%. Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, and best-selling spiritual author Marianne Williamson registered at less than 1%.
Former New York City mayor and multi-billionaire business and media mogul Mike Bloomberg – whose name won’t appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot – was not included in the poll. Seven percent of those questioned remain undecided.
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted Jan. 3 to 7, with 403 likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire questioned by live telephone operators.
State Senate candidate Jenn Alford-Teaster of Bradford – considered an up and coming star in the state Democratic party – is backing Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the race for the party’s presidential nomination.
Alford-Teaster – who narrowly lost in 2018 to Republican Ruth Ward in the District 8 election and is running again in 2020 – said that she’s supporting the progressive senator from Massachusetts because she feels Warren’s rural plan will make a difference with New Hampshire’s rural communities – from increasing access to broadband internet and health care to creating jobs and helping small businesses.
“Warren has run her campaign on a motto of meeting people where they are – and neighbors in our community are responding. As a candidate, Elizabeth has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to being a President for all Americans, holding events in working-class communities like Newport and Weare not usually visited by candidates,” Alford-Teaster writes in an opinion piece published in the Valley News. “I first met Elizabeth in January of 2019 when I introduced her in Claremont – and she’s returned to the area many times. This meaningful and persistent engagement demonstrates the level of commitment necessary to address the most pressing issues facing our rural community.”
Longtime state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark – a vice chair of the state Democratic Party – is backing former Vice President Joe Biden’s bid for the nomination.
The lawmaker from Portsmouth wrote on Thursday that “as vice chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, my plan was to stay neutral in the New Hampshire primary but, as the election gets closer, I am finding it impossible to stay on the sidelines in this most critical of elections. I am hopeful that my endorsement of former Vice President Joe Biden will encourage others to step forward in support of his candidacy as well.”
Fuller Clark stayed neutral in the 2016 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary battle between eventual nominee Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. But in the late spring she endorsed Sanders – and serves as a delegate for the senator from Vermont at that summer’s national nominating convention in Philadelphia.