Kelly Ayotte Leads Paul Hodes in New Hampshire Senate Race

New Hampshire's Republican Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is leading Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes in the race to fill the seat of GOP Sen. Judd Gregg who is not seeking re-election, according to a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll conducted Feb. 1-3. Hodes leads the other two Republicans hoping to run against him.

Ayotte leads Hodes 46 percent to 39 percent with 11 percent undecided. She has the advantage among independents (39 percent of the sample)with a 47 percent to 35 percent lead.

Hodes leads lawyer Ovide Lamontagne 46 percent to 36 percent with 13 percent undecided and beats him 45 percent to 32 percent, with 16 percent undecided, among independents.

Hodes leads businessman William Binnie 45 percent to 35 percent with 15 percent undecided and leads among independents by 44 percent to 31 percent with 18 percent undecided.

In the contest for the Republican nomination, Ayotte leads Lamontagne 36 percent to 27 percent with 4 percent for Binnie and 33 percent undecided. In the match-ups against Hodes, Ayotte does about 10 points better than Lamontagne or Binnie in drawing the support of fellow Republicans.

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