Earlier this month, another VIP article of mine addressed the backlash Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) received for signing a state budget late last month that included a 24-week ban on abortion. While the popular sitting governor is a pro-choice Republican, he acknowledged earlier last month that he, and many others, are opposed to abortions so late into pregnancy. While mainstream media outlets and abortion extremists vowed that his signature doomed Sununus' speculated plans to run for the U.S. Senate, the naysayers have so far been proven wrong.
When it comes to "The Granite State Poll," conducted by the University of New Hampshire, Gov. Sununu is statistically tied with Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. According to the poll, conducted online from July 15-July 19, Sununu has a slight edge, at 49 percent to Hassan's 48 percent. This is within the margin of error of 2.5 percent. Just 2 percent are undecided.
Respondents included 1,540 likely 2022 general election voters. According to a poll memo:
Data were weighted by respondents, sex, age, education, and region of the state to targets from the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as party registration levels provided by the NH Secretary of State and 2020 election results in NH. Granite State Panel members are recruited from randomly-selected landline and cell phone numbers across New Hampshire and surveys are sent periodically to panel members.
In other words, this poll is pretty much the real deal.
Where there is not a statistical tie is among Independents. It's not even close. Sununu leads Hassan by double digits, 52 to 38 percent.7
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And, while a strong majority of Biden voters favor Hassan, at 82 percent, there's almost universal support from Trump voters for Sununu, at a whopping 97 percent.
Not only did the poll results show a statistical tie, but they also did when respondents were polled in February 2021 as well. Sununu had 48 percent to Hassan's 46 percent. Five percent were undecided. The polls results remain consistent, especially when factoring in the margin of error.
One area of concern for Sununu, though, may be that he had a net loss in "moderates," going from 48 to 42 percent. He did, however, solidify his support among "conservatives," going from 95 to 97 percent.
The state of this race is being very closely watched. Sununu has long been considered a potential senate prospect. In the 50-50 Senate, Democrats only hold a majority because Vice President Kamala Harris provides a tie-breaking vote.
