N.H. poll finds presidential race very competitive

The presidential nomination contests for both parties are highly competitive, a Research 2000 poll of New Hampshire voters released over the weekend found.

The poll, conducted for the Concord Monitor, found Senator Hillary Clinton losing ground to Senator Barack Obama in the wake of his impressive visit to the state on Dec. 10. Clinton is in a statistical dead heat with Obama with 22 percent to his 21 percent. John Edwards followed closely behind with 16 percent and Al Gore had 10 percent.

On the Republican side, former New York City Mayor Giuliani and Senator John McCain were in a statistical tie, with Giuliani getting 26 percent in the poll compared to 25 percent for McCain. In third, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had 10 percent and all others were in the single digits.

The poll of 600 Democrats, Republicans, and Independents had a margin of error of 4 percent.