Clinton Leads Christie, Rubio in NH Poll

Hillary Clinton edges Chris Christie by 5 points and Marco Rubio by 11 points in a new poll on a hypothetical 2016 presidential match-up.

The poll found Clinton would lead Christie 37.1 percent to 32.3 percent if the presidential election were held today, according to the sixth annual New Hampshire State of the State poll released Friday by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College.

Clinton would beat U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) by 44 percent to 33 percent, the poll found.

The poll surveyed more than 400 registered New Hampshire voters from April 22 to April 25. It has a margin of error of 4.7 percent.

In New Hampshire, back in February, a "Run Hillary Run" draft committee was filed with the Secretary of State's office. Other polls in the leadoff primary state have had Clinton at the head of the possible 2016 pack of candidates.

Respondents were asked about the three possible candidates. When asked to volunteer a fourth candidate, 79 percent did not have one in mind. The next most responses were for Rand Paul (5.3 percent) and Joe Biden (2.1 percent), according to the findings.

Other findings included:

• Unfavorable ratings for U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) were up 7 points from the 2012 poll (24 percent to 31 percent). Her favorability rating remained steady, however, going from 36.2 percent in 2012 to 36.7 percent in 2013.
• U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) had a big lead over former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (44.2 percent to 29.5 percent) and state Sen. Jeb Bradley (47.9 percent to 25.5 percent) in a possible 2014 contest.
• Voters expressed strong support for universal background checks for gun purchases (76 percent supported, 17 percent opposed, and 7 percent were uncertain).
• Approval ratings for the New Hampshire Legislature climbed in the poll, going from 21.9 percent in 2012 to 22.5 percent this year.
• A question on same-sex marriage found 55.4 percent support, up a notch from 55.1 percent in 2012.
• In respect to a bill to decriminalize possession of a small amount of marijuana, 54.5 percent offered support, 22.6 percent opposed, and 22.8 percent said they didn't know.

This year's State of the State poll demonstrated a shift in support of expanded gambling, according to the center. Support for a casino went from 40.9 percent in 2012 to 44.1 percent in 2013, while opposition went from 41.6 percent to 36.7 percent. Another 19.2 percent of those surveyed were unsure, about on par with 2012.