Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) leads Republican Don Bolduc by about 8.5 points in the race for her Senate seat, according to a poll released Thursday.
A Suffolk University-Boston Globe poll found that 49.6 percent of voters support Hassan, while 41.2 percent support Bolduc. Libertarian Jeremy Kauffman received support from 2.6 percent of respondents, and 6.6 percent said they were undecided.
Hassan holds an advantage among independent voters by 16 points, 49 percent to 33 percent. Each candidate has overwhelming support from their own party, with Hassan having the support of 94 percent of Democrats and Bolduc receiving support from 93 percent of Republicans.
The incumbent is viewed somewhat more favorably than her Republican challenger. Hassan is seen favorably by 48.6 percent of respondents and unfavorably by 44 percent. Bolduc is viewed favorably by 40.6 percent and unfavorably by 43 percent.
Bolduc won the Republican nomination for Senate earlier this month after facing controversy over comments he has made claiming that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Trump. He reversed himself after winning the nomination, saying that fraud had happened but that the election was not stolen.
Bolduc’s potential nomination caused concerns among Republicans about his ability to win for other comments he has made, including accusing New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) of being a “Chinese communist sympathizer.”
The poll found Republicans have a slight lead in voter enthusiasm, with 81 percent of GOP respondents saying they are extremely motivated to vote in the November midterm elections compared to only 70 percent of Democrats who said the same.
But 22 percent of Democrats said they were somewhat motivated, while 13 percent of Republicans said so.
Picking up the seat would be key to Republicans’ efforts to retake the Senate, but FiveThirtyEight’s polling average shows Hassan leading by 7.5 points.
A plurality of respondents, 29.4 percent, rated the economy and inflation as the top issue, followed by protecting democracy at 21 percent and abortion rights at 14.6 percent.
The poll was conducted from Sept. 23 to 26 among 500 likely voters. The margin of error was 4.4 points.