Polls

Hassan riding high in New Hampshire, safe for 2014 re-election

| Tom Jensen


Header-poll-results
Raleigh,
N.C. –
Maggie
Hassan’s high job approval rating and significant double-digit leads over five
possible Republican challengers indicate that the incumbent Democratic governor
will start out ahead for  re-election in
2014 if she decides to run, according to PPP’s first New Hampshire poll since
the 2012 election.

Hassan
has a +19 job approval rating with 50% of voters approving and 31% disapproving
of her performance. Democrats (80/8) and independents (47/29) approve of
Hassan, who also nabs 18% support from Republicans. She has 14 to 20 point
leads over five possible GOP opponents. She leads Jeb Bradley 52/38, Chris
Sununu 53/37, Ted Gastas 51/35, Frank Guinta 54/36 and Kevin Smith 52/32. None
of these potential candidates have a positive favorability rating with New
Hampshire voters.

Kelly Ayotte’s
job approval rating is slightly underwater with 44% approving and 46%
disapproving of her performance, a big drop since before the 2012 election. In
a hypothetical 2016 Senate match-up, Hassan would lead Ayotte by 2 points, 46%
to 44%.

75% of
New Hampshire voters support requiring background checks for gun purchases at
gun shows, while just 21% are opposed. 50% of voters said Ayotte’s vote against
background checks legislation would make them less likely to support her for
re-election, including 79% of Democrats, 50% of independents and 17% of
Republicans. 25% said it doesn’t make a difference and just 23% said it made
them more likely to support her.

“New
Hampshire is a good bellwether for fallout from the gun vote,” said Dean
Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “There’s serious backlash from
voters toward Kelly Ayotte for how she handled this issue.”

67% of
voters said the state’s legalization of gay marriage has had no impact at all
on their lives, while 17% said the impact was positive and 16% said it was
negative. 35% of Democrats said the law has positively impacted them, while 32%
of Republicans said it has negatively impacted them. 56% support and 34% oppose
allowing gay marriage.

PPP surveyed 933 New Hampshire voters from April 19th
to 21st. The margin of error for the sample is +/-3.2%. This poll
was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP
surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

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

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President
Barack Obama’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 52%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Maggie Hassan’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .50%
Disapprove…………. .31%
Not sure …………….. .19%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jeb Bradley?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 25%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 36%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ted Gatsas?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 16%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 29%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 55%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Frank Guinta?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 31%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Kevin Smith?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 12%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 65%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Chris Sununu?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 34%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%

Q8 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican Jeb
Bradley, who would you vote for?
Maggie Hassan……………………………………….. 52%
Jeb Bradley…………………………………………….. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q9 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican Ted
Gatsas, who would you vote for?
Maggie Hassan……………………………………….. 51%
Ted Gatsas …………………………………………….. 35%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q10 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican
Frank Guinta, who would you vote for?
Maggie Hassan……………………………………….. 54%
Frank Guinta…………………………………………… 36%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q11 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican
Kevin Smith, who would you vote for?
Maggie Hassan……………………………………….. 52%
Kevin Smith…………………………………………….. 32%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q12 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican
Chris Sununu, who would you vote for?
Maggie Hassan……………………………………….. 53%
Chris Sununu………………………………………….. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q13 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Kelly
Ayotte’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .44%
Disapprove…………. .46%
Not sure …………….. .10%

Q14 If the candidates for Senate in 2016 were
Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Maggie
Hassan, who would you vote for?
Kelly Ayotte………… .44%
Maggie Hassan…… .46%
Not sure …………….. .10%

Q15 Would you support or oppose requiring
background checks on individuals who
purchase guns at gun shows?
Support ……………… .75%
Oppose ……………… .21%
Not sure …………….. . 4%

Q16 Does Kelly Ayotte’s vote against requiring
background checks make you more likely to
support her for re-election?
More likely………….. .23%
Less likely ………….. .50%
Doesn’t make a
difference …………….25%
Not sure …………….. . 1%

Q17 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
allowed, or not?
It should be allowed 56%
It should not ……….. .34%
Not sure …………….. .10%

Q18 Has the legalization of gay marriage in New
Hampshire had a positive or negative impact
on your life, or has it not had any impact at all?
Positive impact……. .17%
Negative impact ….. .16%
No impact at all …… .67%

Q19 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 51%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 45%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 4%

Q20 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 13%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 15%

Q21 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%

Q22 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 32%
Republican……………………………………………… 29%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 39%

Q23 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 91%
Other……………………………………………………… 9%

Q24 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 44%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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