Clinton pulling ahead in New Hampshire, poll says

On the eve of the Democrats debating Wednesday at Dartmouth College, a new poll out today shows Hillary Clinton apparently widening her lead in New Hampshire, home of the first primary.

Clinton, the national frontrunner, has the support of 43 percent of Granite State Democrats, according to the CNN/WMUR poll, compared to 20 percent for Barack Obama. In a similar poll in July, Clinton led Obama by a narrower margin, 36 percent to 27 percent.

In the poll, 54 percent of those surveyed also said that Clinton has the best chance among the Democratic contenders to beat the Republican nominee, up from 37 percent in July.

Also encouraging for Clinton, 36 percent said she was likeliest to bring needed change, compared to 24 percent who said Obama, who has made change a key theme of his campaign.

John Edwards has moved up to third place, with 12 percent, up from 9 percent in July. Bill Richardson has dropped to fourth at 6 percent, down from 11 percent.

But only 17 percent of respondents said they have definitely decided on a candidate.

The poll, conducted Sept. 17-24 by the University of New Hampshire, surveyed 307 New Hampshire residents who said they plan to vote in the Democratic primary. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.