Gov. Sununu Holds 21-Point Lead Over Democratic Challenger Sherman

The final Emerson College Polling survey finds 49% of voters support Senator Maggie Hassan for re-election while 45% support Republican Donald Bolduc. Three percent are undecided. With undecided voters’ support accounted for, Hassan and Bolduc gained one point each, to 50% and 46%. A majority of voters (56%) expect Hassan to be re-elected, while 44% expect Bolduc to win. Since the last Emerson survey in New Hampshire, Hassan gained one point, from 48% to 49%, and Bolduc has remained at 45%.

In the gubernatorial election, Republican Governor Chris Sununu leads his Democratic challenger Tom Sherman 57% to 36%; 4% are undecided. With undecided voters’ support accounted for, Sununu’s support increases to 58% and Sherman to 37%. Since September, Sununu has expanded his support by five points from 52% to 57%, while Sherman has lost four points, from 40% to 36%. 

Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling, said: “Among New Hampshire’s plurality share of independent voters, Hassan leads Bolduc 50% to 40%. These voters split their ticket and plan to vote for Republican Governor Sununu over Democrat Sherman 53% to 37%.” 

Forty-nine percent of voters have a favorable view of Maggie Hassan, while 47% have a favorable view of Don Bolduc. Fifty percent have an unfavorable view of Hassan while 48% have an unfavorable view of Don Bolduc.

The economy is the top issue for 40% of voters when determining their vote next week, followed by “threats to democracy” (16%), abortion access (15%), and healthcare (7%).

President Biden holds a 52% disapproval among New Hampshire voters, while 39% approve of the job he is doing as president. In a hypothetical 2024 matchup between President Biden and former President Trump, 45% would vote for Biden and 41% Trump. Three percent are undecided, and 11% say they would vote for someone else. When asked if a Trump endorsement makes them more or less likely to support a candidate, 47% say they are less likely to support a candidate, 27% say it makes no difference, and 26% are more likely. 

Methodology

The Emerson College Polling survey of New Hampshire voters was conducted October 30-November 1, 2022. The sample consisted of very likely voters, n=850 with a Credibility Interval (CI) similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE) of +/- 3.3 percentage points. The data sets were weighted by gender, age, education, race, and region based on 2022 turnout modeling. It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics carry with them higher margins of error, as the sample size is reduced. Data was collected using a cellphone sample using SMS-to-web, an online panel, and an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines.