Former Massachusetts Governor and failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney leads another New Hampshire poll, but Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker performed surprisingly well in the very early poll of potential 2016 Granite State primary voters.
The NH1 Pulse Poll released on Thursday found that 29% of “Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP who say they are likely to vote in next year’s first-in-the-nation primary” would support Romney at this time. Eighteen percent reportedly “said they would back someone else or are unsure.”
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was in second at 11% while New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Walker were tied at 8%. Dr. Ben Carson and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) were tied at 7%. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee received 5%. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) received 4% and 5%, respectively.
Romney and Bush met in Utah on Thursday and reportedly did not reach a gentleman’s agreement about 2016. As NH1 noted, should Romney, who has told donors that he is seriously considering a third White House run, enter the 2016 race, New Hampshire would be a make-or-break state for him. Romney won New Hampshire’s GOP primary in 2012 and probably could not remain viable in 2016 should he lose New Hampshire.
The poll, which was conducted on Wednesday, has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.