Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has a slight lead in another New Hampshire poll of potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates. But the poll, released on Friday, revealed that most voters are undecided, and only one percent of those surveyed have decided on a particular candidate.
According to a WMUR Granite State Poll, which is conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, 15% of GOP primary voters would vote for Paul. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) came in second with 13%, followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 12%, Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) with 7% each, Donald Trump with 5%, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal with 3% each, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) with 2%, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry with 1%.
In addition, only “1% of likely Republican Primary voters say they have definitely decided who they will support, 7% are leaning toward a candidate, and 93% are still trying to decide.”
When voters were “asked in an open-ended question who they support for the GOP nomination,” the field became even more wide open. The poll found that “62% of likely Republican voters would not, or could not, name a candidate.” When respondents did name candidates, Paul got 9%, Christie 7%, Cruz 6%, Romney and Scott Brown 3%, and Ryan and Bush 2%.
It is often difficult for GOP candidates to win social conservatives in Iowa, and New Hampshire voters are more interested in fiscal issues. But on paper, at least currently, Paul has potentially the best chance of winning both states.