Trump Closes Gap in New Hampshire Poll as Support for Gary Johnson Collapses

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has pulled to within two points in a four-way matchup for New Hampshire, according to the latest Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll released on Wednesday.

The two-point gap in the survey of 500 likely New Hampshire voters is well within the poll’s margin of error of 4.4 percent. Four presidential candidates registered support in the poll, with Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton at 44 percemt, Trump at 42 percent, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson at 5 percent, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein at 1 percent.

The five previous polls of a four-way matchup in New Hampshire had shown Libertarian candidate Johnson with double-digit support ranging from 10-15 percent. Trump was twice as likely to be named as the “second” choice for respondents supporting either Johnson or Stein.

The Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll suggests that a series of embarrassing gaffes are taking a toll on Johnson in New Hampshire and that Trump is the primary beneficiary. Johnson has struggled with basic foreign policy questions in recent weeks, including when he had to ask, “What is Aleppo?” and couldn’t name a single world-leader he admires or couldn’t name the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.

The poll shows Clinton underperforming with people who say they voted for President Obama by nearly 7 percent. More than 51 percent of respondents say they voted for Obama over Romney, yet Clinton is stuck at 44 percent. President Obama carried New Hampshire and its four electoral votes in 2012, 52-46 percent.

Terrorism and National Security was  just slightly ahead of Jobs and the Economy as the most important issues facing the next president.

When asked whether they feel Alarmed, Excited, or Bored by the election, an overwhelming majority said they were alarmed. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Rodham Clinton struggled with whether respondents found them honest and trustworthy with solid majorities for both candidates responding that they do not find them honest and trustworthy.

Clinton continues to lead Trump by 5 percent in the Real Clear Politics average of polls in New Hampshire, in which Gary Johnson remains at nearly 11 percent.

Dustin Stockton is a political reporter for Breitbart News, a community liaison for Gun Owners of America, and a political strategist. Follow him on Twitter @DustinStockton or  Facebook.