Bush holds narrow lead in NH

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush narrowly leads prospective 2016 Republican candidates in New Hampshire, according to a Bloomberg Politics/Saint Anselm College poll released Sunday.

{mosads}Bush is the first choice among 16 percent of Republican primary voters in the early voting state, followed closely by Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) with 13 percent, Gov. Scott Walker (Wis.) with 12 percent and Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.) with 10 percent.

When GOP voters’ first and second choices are combined, Bush’s support extends to 30 percent, compared to 18 percent each for Paul, Walker and Christie.

Another poll released last week from WMUR found similar results, while one put out by news network NH1 last week gave the top spot to Walker.

In the Bloomberg poll, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) and Dr. Ben Carson nab 6 percent support each, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 5 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Gov. Rick Perry (Texas) come in with 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

As Bush moves to draw monetary and political support in early voting states, he is laying the groundwork for a White House bid with speeches emphasizing economic opportunity, such as in Detroit last week.

He is slated to discuss foreign and domestic policy at an event in Chicago later this month.

Among Democrats in the Bloomberg poll, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remains the top choice drawing 56 percent of primary voters, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) with 15 percent. Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) get 8 percent support apiece in the poll.

The poll of 400 Republican and 400 Democratic primary voters was conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5 via landlines and cellphones with a margin of error of 5 points.