Polls give Sununu edge over Scott in Republican primary race

(The Center Square) – Former Sen. John Sununu has a lead over rival Scott Brown in the nationally watched Republican primary race to replace outgoing New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, according to a pair of new polls.

A University of New Hampshire poll, released Monday, found 42% of likely Republican voters favor Sununu versus 27% who would vote for Brown, the former Massachusetts U.S. senator, in a primary matchup. About 31% of those polled are still undecided.

Pollsters said a major reason for Sununu's early lead in the race is that "he remains somewhat better known and better liked than Brown" among those surveyed. Republican voters had a 42% favorable opinion of Sununu, while 37% of Republican voters had a favorable opinion of Brown, according to the poll.

Still, the latest poll from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center shows that even the U.S. Senate's Republican primary could be closer than observers expect. It shows Sununu has 39% support, Brown has 30%, and 31% undecided. Among conservatives, Brown leads Sununu 36%-35%, Anselm pollsters found.

The decision by Shaheen, a three-term Democrat and former New Hampshire governor, not to seek reelection next year has prompted a flurry of candidates in what is likely to be a competitive race that could help determine majority of the U.S. Senate in next year's midterms.

Brown, a former New Zealand ambassador who lost a New Hampshire Senate race against Shaheen in 2014, got into the race early by declaring his candidacy before Shaheen announced she would not be running for another term.

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Sununu – defeated in his bid for reelection in 2008 by Shaheen – announced last month that he was making a comeback bid to reclaim the seat he lost to Democrats 17 years ago.

The veteran politician, whose lineage hails from one of New Hampshire's most storied political families, represented New Hampshire in the Senate from 2003 to 2008 after having served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Pappas holds a commanding lead – or 57% – over rivals also seeking the party's nomination to run for the U.S. Senate seat, according to the University of New Hampshire poll. Scientist Karishma Manzur had 8% and state Rep. Jared Sullivan had 5%. Another 30% were undecided, pollsters found.

In a potential general election matchup in November, Pappas is leading Brown 44%-36% with 20% undecided; while Sununu has a slight lead over Pappas still with 44%, Sununu at 41% and 16% of voters undecided, according to the Anselm College poll.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has listed the New Hampshire U.S. Senate seat as a toss-up race, saying internal polling shows Republicans with a slight edge over Democrats. The nonpartisan Cook political report rated the Senate seat as "leaning Democrat."

Republicans have a 53-45 edge over Democrats in the U.S. Senate, with two independents caucusing with the minority party. The independents were not consistent with Democrats on the most recent squabble to reopen the government.