Poll: Donald Trump on Romney’s tail in NH

Trump has taken up the “birther” cause over the past two weeks, demanding that President Obama release his birth certificate and saying questions over whether Obama was truly born in the U.S. are legitimate.

Despite the seemingly strong showing for Trump, though, his negatives are
higher than any other rumored GOP hopeful’s. The poll found 41 percent of
New Hampshire Republicans hold a favorable opinion of Trump, while 43
percent view him unfavorably. That’s second only to Palin, who’s viewed
negatively by 39 percent of Republican voters in the state.

With Trump out of the race, Romney holds a sizable early lead in the state, garnering 31 percent of the vote to Huckabee’s 15 and Gingrich’s 13. Palin is tied with Paul in the fourth spot with 10 percent of the vote, followed by 4 percent for Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. 

One potential warning sign for Romney, notes Jensen, is the 61 percent of primary voters who said they wouldn’t support a candidate who backed a bill on the state level with a mandate to purchase health insurance.

“In five of the six horse-race questions we asked, Romney still leads with
those voters, suggesting that most Republicans who follow politics and
the 2012 race only casually are not really aware of ‘RomneyCare,’ ” writes Jensen. “It’s
safe to say they’ll be well-aware of it nine months from now, and it’s
going to be interesting to see if Romney can sustain his support once
he’s been endlessly bashed over the head with it.”

The poll surveyed 384 New Hampshire Republicans and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.