EXCLUSIVE 7NEWS/Emerson College NH Presidential Primary: Voters appear poised for a rematch – Boston News, Weather, Sports

New Hampshire voters appear poised for a rematch.

Right now, they’re picking President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump as their primary favorites.

“This poll — it sets the bar for Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee. Now the question is, can anyone knock him down in the next 7-8 months,” said Spencer Kimball, director of Emerson College Polling.

Our exclusive 7News Emerson College poll shows that 58% of Republican primary voters in the Granite State favor Trump.

Trump’s closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is a long way behind at just 17%.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu gets 7%, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley 6% and former Vice President Mike Pence 4%.

“What DeSantis needs to do is visit New Hampshire. He’s trying to get that Trump vote and it’s a tough job,” said Spencer Kimball, Emerson College director of polling.

For Democrats, President Biden’s biggest competitor is himself. In our poll, only 38% of likely voters in New Hampshire agree with his work. 50% refuse.

And when we asked Democratic primary voters if they want him or anyone else as their nominee in 2024, just 44% said Biden. 55% said someone else.

“They look at other people,” Kimball said.

They’re looking — but New Hampshire’s Democratic primary voters haven’t found that person.

The President receives 29% of the primary votes in our poll, compared to 17% for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gets 14%, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren gets 11%, and Vice President Kamala Harris gets 10%.

“Despite his low level of approval, they would still choose him over any of these other alternatives.

As Mayor White would always say in Boston, don’t judge me against the Almighty, judge me against the alternative,” Kimball said.

And there is more encouraging news for President Biden.

According to our poll, the president wins between 42% and 38% in a campaign with Trump.

If DeSantis were the challenger – the President wins again by almost the same margin: 42% to 37%.

“If you put him against DeSantis or Trump, you can see that despite his low approval rating, they would still prefer him to any of those alternatives,” Kimball said.

But age could become a problem for the president.

If re-elected, he will begin his second term at age 82. 57% of New Hampshire voters say it would be a barrier to him becoming an effective president.

If Donald Trump makes it back to the White House, he will be 78 years old to begin his term. Only 36% of voters in our survey see this as a problem.

“Even though he leads against Trump and DeSantis in these polls, that’s a number that raises an eyebrow. Because that’s a majority of voters who now think age is going to be an impediment,” Kimball said.

The national Democratic Party is in the process of making South Carolina the first primary in the nation. A title New Hampshire has proudly held for decades.

Three out of four voters say it’s important to keep their elementary school first.

The voters who have been hardest hit are the independent voters who normally run the New Hampshire presidential race.

Click below to read the entire New Hampshire survey.

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