Ayotte's backers no doubt hope this will bolster Ayotte's effort to portray herself as the strongest candidate among Republican hopefuls.

Attorney Ovide Lamontague, who ran unsuccessfully for governor against now-Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 1996, trails Hodes 37 percent to 28 percent with 2 percent preferring someone else and 33 percent undecided.

Hodes also leads businessman Sean Mahoney by the same numbers as he registers against Lamontagne.

The favorability ratings of the candidates mostly show how little known they are. Forty-nine percent don't know Ayotte well enough to have an opinion, 75 percent don't know Lamontagne, and 86 percent don't know Mahoney. Thirty-seven percent don't know enough about Hodes to have an opinion.

Those numbers show how long a way to go this race has, with only 14 percent saying they have decided who to support or are leaning towards a candidate.