Hassan holds narrow lead in New Hampshire Senate race: poll

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) holds a 4 percentage point lead over Republican Don Bolduc in the New Hampshire Senate race, according to a new poll. 

An Emerson College Polling survey found Hassan receiving 49 percent support among very likely voters, compared to Bolduc with 45 percent. A separate 3 percent said they were undecided. 

But that polling shifts to Hassan receiving 50 percent and Bolduc receiving 46 percent when the polling factors in voters who are undecided but are asked which candidate they’re leaning toward. 

That polling is just outside of the survey’s margin of error, which is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points, and shows a wider lead for Hassan since the last time the survey was conducted last month. 

An Emerson College Polling-WHDH 7 News survey in October found Hassan leading Bolduc by 3 percentage points at 48 percent and 45 percent respectively, though that fell within the poll’s margin of error, effectively tying the two.

“Among New Hampshire’s plurality share of independent voters, Hassan leads Bolduc 50% to 40%. These voters split their ticket and plan to vote for Republican Governor Sununu over Democrat Sherman 53% to 37%,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement about the Friday poll. 

The New Hampshire Senate poll is considered one of the most competitive for this election cycle. While outside Republican groups had initially invested in the state after the primary, groups began pulling out when polling indicated Hassan was holding a larger lead over the retired Army general.

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee gave New Hampshire a second look after polls again noted that the race had shifted toward a tighter margin between Hassan and Bolduc.