McCain a bit ahead of Obama in NH, about even with Clinton

DURHAM, N.H.—A new poll shows Republican John McCain slightly ahead of Democrat Barack Obama but about even with Hillary Clinton among New Hampshire voters.

When asked to choose between McCain and Obama, 49 percent of participants in the latest Granite State Poll favored McCain and 43 percent picked Obama. In a matchup between McCain and Clinton, 47 percent chose McCain and 43 percent chose Clinton, with the difference between them less than poll's margin of error.

In February, before the field of candidates had been whittled down, 56 percent of likely voters in New Hampshire said they planned to vote for the Democratic nominee in November, with only 33 percent saying they planned to vote Republican.

"These results show why political parties want to end their nomination processes quickly," said Andrew Smith, director of the survey center. "Both Obama and Clinton have been hurt in New Hampshire because of their ongoing nomination struggle."

McCain leads both Democrats among independent voters. They picked the Arizona senator 53-30 percent over Clinton, and 61-27 percent over Obama.

"McCain did very well among more independent voters in both the 2000 and 2008 New Hampshire primaries and it shows," said Smith. His national strategy depends on him broadening the weakened Republican party base by drawing in more independent voters."

The telephone poll of 456 likely voters was conducted April 25-30 by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and had a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.