POLL: Can Anyone Beat Hillary?

Vote in our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments field below.

It's still very, very early, but to this point, it looks like Hillary Clinton is almost a lock for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. A Quinnipiac University poll released this week had her with 65 percent of her party's support, with Vice President Joe Biden a distant second at just 13 percent. Polls of New Hampshire voters by Public Policy Polling and the University of New Hampshire Survey Center have shown similar results. Clinton also fares well in potential match-ups with top Republican presidential contenders like Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie. She leads Paul 52 to 41 percent and Rubio 52 to 38 percent in New Hampshire, according to PPP. That begs the question: Is there anyone who stands a chance against Clinton…

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Clinton, Christie Early Frontrunners for 2016 NH Primary

But with the primary still three years away, most New Hampshire voters are understandably still undecided.

OUTSIDE MANCHESTER, NH -- Hillary Clinton is the heavy favorite among New Hampshire Democrats for the 2016 New Hampshire Primary, while no one in the Republican field has yet to separate from the pack. Yes, it's still three years before the 2016 Primary, but a WMUR/University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Thursday night shows that Clinton is the prohibitive favorite among Granite State Democrats. The poll surveyed 581 New Hampshire residents. A whopping 63 percent of Democratic voters said they plan to vote for Clinton, compared to 10 percent for Vice President Joe Biden, 5 percent for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and 2 percent for Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker. Biden made numerous stops in New Hampshire last year, …

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POLL: Will Hurricane Sandy Help Obama?

Vote in our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments field below.

A Washington Post/ABC poll released this week showed that 80 percent of voters feel President Obama has done a good job dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie – a staunch supporter of Mitt Romney – praised Obama's response to the storm, which devastated parts of New Jersey and New York and caused serious damage in many other states, including New Hampshire. Obama also received the endorsement of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday, with Bloomberg citing Obama's handling of Hurricane Sandy as one of the main reasons he decided to support the president. Meanwhile, Romney's previous pledge to abolish FEMA hasn't helped him in the wake of the storm. What do you think? Will Hurricane …

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Red Granite

Ayotte Would be A Poor VP Pick, NH Republicans Say

Marco Rubio, Condi Rice were popular choices among Red Granite participants.

GOP insiders remain unconvinced that U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte would make a good running mate for Mitt Romney: that's the main finding of this week's Red Granite survey of influential New Hampshire Republicans. In all, 101 Republicans from New Hampshire were asked using an automated survey tool whether they think Ayotte, R-NH, would be a good running mate for Romney. Forty-six responses were collected. More than half of those surveyed responded negatively to the idea of Ayotte as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Thirty-nine percent said they completely disagree, while another 15 percent said they somewhat disagree. Twenty-six percent said they somewhat agree that Ayotte would be a good running mate, 6 percent said they completely …

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N.H. Primary

VIDEO: Christie Talks Down Romney Protester

He took on a woman at Exeter High School.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tonight talked down a group of protesters – and a woman in particular – who interrupted a huge Mitt Romney campaign event at Exeter High School. Christie, rumored as a possible vice president pick for Romney, took on a protester who chanted "Mitt kills job!" and then "Christie kills jobs!" You can watch the exchange in the video above. The crowd numbered about 1,000. There were another 200-plus members of the media. Romney went after President Obama, rarely mentioning his GOP rivals. He was joined onstage by New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, another rumored vice president pick for Romney. There were two interruptions by protesters. The chants during the first interruption were inaudible. Romney paused, …

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GOP Power Outsiders Poll

Herman Cain Impresses NH Republicans

GOP Power Outsiders say they think he can beat Barack Obama.

Herman Cain's appeal is real, and he has what it takes to beat Barack Obama, according to a survey of Republicans in New Hampshire and two other early-voting states. Nearly three out of four of the 159 GOP influentials in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina surveyed in the latest Patch-Huffington Post Power Outsiders poll used a positive word to describe Cain, more than was recorded for any of the others tested to date, including Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Chris Christie. The most frequently used words were "impressive," "leader," "successful," "likeable" and "charismatic." Only 11 percent used negative words, such as "unqualified" or "opportunist." Perhaps more importantly, 92 percent of those polled describe Cain as someone who "…

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David Victory

4:35 pm on Wednesday, November 16, 2011

"GOP Power Outsiders say they think he can beat Barack Obama." Can you imagine the debate? Oh, what a bloody massacre it would be.   more ›

GOP Power Outsiders Poll

Republicans: Christie Could've Contended in NH

Poll shows favorable opinions of the New Jersey governor.

Chris Christie could have been a contender for the GOP presidential nomination if he had decided to jump into the race, according to influential Republicans in New Hampshire and two other early-voting states. Fifty-seven percent of the 156 Republicans in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina surveyed for the latest Patch-Huffington Post Power Outsiders Poll used positive words to describe the New Jersey governor, who announced Tuesday that he would not run for president. The most frequent positive words used to describe him were "bold," "strong," "direct" and "leader." Only 16 percent of the words used to describe Christie were unambiguously negative, including "unknown," "unproven" and "inexperienced." Four out of five of those polled …

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Primary Patch

McCotter's Out, Who's Next?

Michigan Congressman's departure prompts speculation about others who might drop out.

Thad McCotter became the second casualty of the 2012 presidential campaign when he dropped out of the race last week, joining Tim Pawlenty among the ranks of the former candidates. According to University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala, the race has now reached the point where those candidates who don’t have a chance are going to start dropping out. But who will be the next to go? There are any number of possibilities, from Rick Santorum, to Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich. All are polling in the low single digits both nationally and here in New Hampshire. "I don't know if this means Santorum or Cain is about to get out," Scala said last week. "I guess the next one out would be someone like (Gary) Johnson. How long …

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GOP Power Outsiders Poll

NH Republicans Not Pining for Palin

GOP influentials say they're satisfied with the current field of presidential candidates.

There's been a lot of talk during this presidential campaign about how the current slate of Republican candidates is lacking that spark, that certain something needed to capture voters' imagination. That's led to a whole lot of discussion about whether potential candidates such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might jump into the race. But according to a survey of GOP leaders in New Hampshire and two other early-voting states, most main street Republicans appear to be satisfied with the candidates they have to choose from now. Sixty-three percent of the 169 people responding to the Patch-Huffington Post Power Outsiders poll of Republican voters in New Hampshire, Iowa and South …

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