Polls

NH poll: Rubio surges into second place

by Jonathan Easley - 02/04/16 5:36 PM ET

Donald Trump holds a double-digit lead over the Republican presidential field in New Hampshire, but Marco Rubio has surged into second place, a new poll finds.

A CNN-WMUR survey released on Thursday tested Republicans in New Hampshire in the days before and after Monday’s Iowa caucuses, and found Trump’s support holding steady at 29 percent.

That’s in line with Trump’s level of support in recent CNN-WMUR surveys but down from his high of 34 percent in mid-January.

{mosads}The biggest mover in the poll is Rubio, who rode a late surge of support to a strong third-place finish in the GOP caucuses.

Rubio received 11 percent support in the two CNN-WMUR surveys taken shortly before the caucuses, and he has now shot up to 18 percent, putting him in second place.

Ted Cruz, the winner of the Iowa caucuses, is at 13 percent in the new poll, essentially unchanged from his standing before the caucuses.

Rubio has been scrapping with a pack of the more centrist candidates, including Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie, who have all staked their campaigns on strong finishes in the Granite State.

But he has pulled away from the others in the latest CNN-WMUR survey, with Kasich taking 12 percent support, Bush taking 10 percent, and Christie falling from 9 percent to 4 percent.

Carly Fiorina also takes 4 percent support, while Ben Carson is at 2 percent.

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The poll found a majority of Republicans in New Hampshire haven’t made up their minds yet. Only 41 percent say they have definitely settled on a candidate; 59 percent said they’re still trying to decide or are leaning toward someone.

The Republicans will debate on Saturday night in New Hampshire before the primary on Tuesday.

The CNN-WMUR poll of 362 Republicans contacted between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, before the Iowa caucuses, has a 5.2 percentage point margin of error. The poll of 209 Republicans contacted between Feb. 2 and Feb. 4, after the Iowa caucuses, has a 6.8-point margin of error.

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