The incumbent Republican still leads the presumptive Democratic nominee, but her advantage has narrowed since April as her support softens.
New Hampshire’s race for governor has tightened heading into the summer, with Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s lead over presumptive Democratic nominee Cinde Warmington shrinking to 5 points in the latest University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll.
Forty-four percent of likely voters said they would back Ayotte if the election were held today, compared with 39% for Warmington, according to the survey from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, released June 30.
Three percent favored another candidate and 13% were undecided.
The margin marks a significant narrowing since April, when Ayotte led the former Executive Councilor, 47% to 39%. Warmington’s support held steady across both surveys; the movement came almost entirely from Ayotte, whose share slipped 3 points.
The tightening tracks with softening numbers for the first-term governor.
Ayotte’s favorability rating turned negative, with 38% of residents viewing her favorably and 42% unfavorably—a net rating of minus 4, down from plus 2 in April. Her job-approval rating stood at 47% approve to 45% disapprove, for a net rating of plus 2, unchanged since May.
Warmington, meanwhile, remains largely unknown to the electorate. Forty-three percent of residents said they did not know enough about her to form an opinion, and her favorability sat at 13% favorable to 27% unfavorable, a net minus 15 that slipped from minus 6 in April. The figures point to a candidate with room to grow but also ground to make up as the campaign moves toward the fall.
The poll surveyed 2,396 members of the university’s Granite State Panel online between June 18 and June 23 and carried an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points. Results among the 2,232 likely general-election voters carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 points.
