Many New Hampshire voters have shifted their support from presidential candidate Sen. Bob Dole R-Kan. to opponent Steve Forbes, according to a second wave of poll data released by WMUR-Dartmouth pollsters yesterday.
The new data indicates a majority of New Hampshire voters have switched their allegiance to a new candidate since October. The poll also showed President Clinton trouncing both Dole and Forbes in New Hampshire if the general election were held today.
The new data indicate 18 percent of New Hampshire voters who said in October they would vote for Dole now say they would support Forbes. The WMUR-Dartmouth poll released Monday showed Forbes and Dole in a statistical dead-heat among New Hampshire Republicans.
"One-half of the likely Republican primary voters who said they would vote for Dole in October now say they will vote for a different candidate or are undecided," said Director of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences Linda Fowler. Fowler directed the poll.
Only 24 percent of Dole's current following supported another candidate in October, according to the poll.
Forbes lost 32 percent of his October supporters to other candidates, according to the poll.
But, according to the poll, other voters have filled the vacancy. About 78 percent of Forbes' current supporters said they would have either voted for a different candidate or have been undecided four months ago.
"Dole had the most to lose and he's the one who has been hurt most," Fowler said.
Fowler said she was surprised that Forbes had been able to win over so many of Dole's conservative supporters.
"The thing that's surprising is that we were expecting that Forbes would cost Dole the most among moderates and independents," Fowler said. "But it turns out that he's also cost Dole some conservative support."
Fowler said this defection is responsible, in part, for Forbes' climb in the polls.
According to the new data, Forbes has siphoned support from other Republican contenders as well.
The poll showed excellent news for Clinton. According to the poll, if the general election were held today, Clinton would beat Dole 54 percent to 34 percent and Forbes 50 percent to 36 percent among New Hampshire voters.
Within the state, Clinton holds a 60 percent approval rating. Twenty-three percent of New Hampshire Republicans and 62 percent of New Hampshire independents said they will vote for him.
However, 61 percent of New Hampshire voters said if the election were between Dole and Clinton, they would like to see an independent candidate.
According to the poll, New Hampshire voters support a flat tax, such as Forbes advocates, 50 percent to 31 percent. Voters who were less well-off were not as likely to support a flat tax, and wealthier voters were more likely to support it.
