Attorney General Kelly Ayotte surges ahead in the race to be the Republican nominee for the New Hampshire Senate race. Ayotte leads with 47% of the vote and is followed by Bill Binnie who has the support of a mere 14% of Republicans.

Ayotte is by far the most popular candidate, with a 53% favorability rating, up from 50% three months ago. Sarah Palin’s July endorsement of Ayotte hasn’t played much of a role in propelling her into first place. 38% of New Hampshire Republicans said they are more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by the former Governor of Alaska, 28% said less likely and 34% said it makes no difference. An endorsement from Palin negatively impacted the opinion of almost a third of Republicans and over half of all New Hampshire voters.

Only 27% of New Hampshire Republicans identify as members of the Tea Party, a far cry from the 47% of Republicans nationwide that call themselves Tea Partiers.

While 45% of the New Hampshire Republicans think the Republican Party is ideologically just right, 26% think it is too liberal and 25% think it is too conservative, suggesting there are fractions within about the direction of the party.

“Ayotte did not need Palin’s endorsement to secure the nomination,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “With over 50 percent of New Hampshire voters less likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Palin, Ayotte may pay for the former Alaska Governor’s endorsement during the general election.” 

PPP surveyed 415 Republican voters in New Hampshire from ­­­­­­July 23-25, 2010.  The survey’s margin of error is +/-4.81%.  Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.

If you would like an interview regarding this release, please contact Dean Debnam at (888) 621-6988 or 919-880-4888.

Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Kelly Ayotte?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 53%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 23%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Bill Binnie?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 38%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 26%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 36%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jim Bender?
Favorable ………….. 22%
Unfavorable……….. 24%
Not Sure……………. 54%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ovide Lamontagne?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 23%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 31%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 46%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Frank Emiro?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 6%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 80%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jack Kimball?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 9%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 80%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of John Stephen?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 23%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 63%

Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Karen Testerman?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 7%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 79%

Q9 Would you be more or less likely to vote for a
candidate who was endorsed by Sarah Palin,
or would it not make a difference?
More likely………………………………………………. 38%
Less likely ………………………………………………. 28%
Makes no difference ………………………………… 34%

Q10 Do you consider yourself to be a member of
the Tea Party?
Yes ……………………………………………………….. 27%
No …………………………………………………………. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q11 Do you think the Republican Party is too liberal,
too conservative, or about right?
Too liberal ………………………………………………. 26%
Too conservative …………………………………….. 25%
About right ……………………………………………… 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%

Q12 The Republican candidates for Senate are
Tom Alciere, Kelly Ayotte, Gerard Beloin, Jim
Bender, Bill Binnie, Dennis Lamare, and Ovide
Lamontagne. If the primary was today, who
would you vote for?
Tom Alciere…………………………………………….. 1%
Kelly Ayotte…………………………………………….. 47%
Gerard Beloin………………………………………….. 3%
Jim Bender……………………………………………… 6%
Bill Binnie……………………………………………….. 14%
Dennis Lamare ……………………………………….. 1%
Ovide Lamontagne…………………………………… 8%
Undecided………………………………………………. 20%

Q13 The Republican candidates for Governor are
Frank Emiro, Jack Kimball, John Stephen, and
Karen Testerman. If the primary was today,
who would you vote for?
Frank Emiro ……………………………………………. 3%
Jack Kimball……………………………………………. 15%
John Stephen………………………………………….. 26%
Karen Testerman …………………………………….. 5%
Undecided………………………………………………. 51%

Q14 If the Republican candidates for President in
2012 were Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Mike
Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim
Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney who would you
vote for?
Mitch Daniels ………………………………………….. 1%
Newt Gingrich …………………………………………. 14%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 12%
Sarah Palin …………………………………………….. 9%
Ron Paul ………………………………………………… 13%
Tim Pawlenty ………………………………………….. 3%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 31%
Someone else…………………………………………. 5%
Undecided………………………………………………. 11%

Q15 Would you describe yourself as a liberal,
moderate, or conservative? If liberal, press 1. If
moderate, press 2. If conservative, press 3.
Liberal ……………………………………………………. 8%
Moderate………………………………………………… 39%
Conservative…………………………………………… 53%

Q16 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 47%
Man……………………………………………………….. 53%

Q17 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1 now. If
you are 30 to 45, press 2. If you are 46 to 65,
press 3. If older, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 23%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 39%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 26%