Latest New Hampshire Polls, Trends: Trump In Front; A Fight For Second Place

On the eve of New Hampshire’s primaries, scheduled for Tuesday, polls have painted a blurred picture of who will likely come out victorious. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was leading Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race, and billionaire businessman Donald Trump appeared to have a strong lead among Republicans.

Still, many polls ahead of the Iowa caucuses last week had Trump coming out on top as well, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ended up winning the Republican caucus in that state. Monday, a day before New Hampshire’s primaries, many polls had Republican candidates including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Cruz all muddled in the middle and all securing a variety of spots, ranging from second to fifth place.

A poll carried out Sunday by a pro-Kasich super PAC found Trump leading the GOP field in New Hampshire with 35 percent, followed by Kasich with 15 percent, Bush in third with 13 percent, Rubio in fourth with 10 percent, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Cruz tied with 8 percent. While a CNN Poll of Polls also placed Trump in first with 31 percent, Rubio scored in second place with 15 percent, followed by Cruz with 13 percent, Kasich at 11 percent and Bush at 10 percent. Monmouth University’s final New Hampshire poll had Trump leading with 30 percent, followed by Kasich with 14 percent and Rubio and Bush each with 13 percent. In that poll, Cruz trailed behind with 12 percent.

Meanwhile, a Real Clear Politics average of polling data placed Trump in the lead with 31 percent, followed by Rubio with 14.7 percent, Kasich at 13.2 percent, Cruz at 12.7 percent and Bush at 10.5 percent.

On the Democratic side, an UMass/7 News poll found Sanders was ahead with 56 percent, trailed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with 40 percent. Sanders also led the field in a poll from the American Research Group conducted Feb.6-7, which had him at 53 percent, and Clinton at 41 percent. A CNN/UNH/WMUR poll also placed Sanders far ahead with 58 percent, compared to Clinton’s 35 percent, along with a Monmouth University poll who had Sanders ahead with 52 percent and Clinton at 42 percent.