Jeb Bush takes New Hampshire lead

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush leads a tight field of potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire, followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a WMUR poll released Thursday found.

Bush garnered 17 percent support among likely 2016 Republican primary voters in the state, while Walker took 12 percent.

{mosads}Walker has been the subject of increased media attention since a well-received speech in Iowa where he fired up the conservative base.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) all got 9 percent support in the poll. Doctor and conservative activist Ben Carson received 8 percent support.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) all polled below 5 percent.

The poll is the first from the TV station since former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said he would not pursue a third run for the White House.

It also comes as many of the potential candidates begin to build their campaign organizations. In the last few weeks, several likely candidates have announced the hiring of Republican operatives for their political committees.

WMUR also surveyed the Democratic field, and found that Hillary Clinton remains the front-runner among a group of possible candidates.

She received 58 percent support, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) came in second with 14 percent. Warren has said repeatedly that she is not running.

Clinton is said to be assembling a campaign apparatus of her own, though advisers reportedly disagree about when she will launch her campaign.

The poll was conducted from Jan. 22 to Feb. 3 and has a margin-of-error of plus or minus 5.3 percent for Republicans and plus or minus 5.7 percent for Democrats. The sample size was 348 voters for Republicans and 297 Democratic voters.

This story was updated at 8:45 p.m.