Advertisement NH Primary Source: Weld camp sees good news in recent Emerson College poll Share Shares Copy Link Copy

GOOD NEWS FOR WELD? Republican Bill Weld’s campaign believes the results of a weekend poll by Emerson College contains good news from their point of view. They say it shows that President Donald Trump is vulnerable in New Hampshire.While the poll shows that the president has a huge lead among likely Republican primary voters, it also shows that the former Massachusetts governor, a week after announcing his exploratory committee to pursue the possibility of challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, would be the choice of nearly 20 percent of primary voters.The numbers are 82 percent for Trump and 18 percent for Weld among 328 likely primary voters. The numbers beg the question of whether Weld has the potential to grow his support with active campaigning, or whether the numbers, coming in an aftermath of widespread media coverage of his announcement, are Weld’s high-water mark. He is expected to announce his candidacy in roughly a month’s time; we understand in early April.The Weld camp is also pointing to other numbers in the poll that gives it confidence: 70 percent of those polled agreed that a president should be transparent about his or her financial background; 85 percent said a president “should make efforts to work with the other party” and 42 percent cited truthfulness as the most important characteristic in a presidential candidate. These are all points Weld has made in his criticism of Trump.But at the same time, 80 percent of likely Republican primary voters approve of Trump while only 14 percent disapprove. That’s not particularly good news for Weld or any Republican looking to challenge the incumbent. When Democrats and independent (undeclared) likely voters are included, 42 percent approve of Trump, while 52 percent disapprove.We’ll see if anything changes when the Mueller report is issued. But it’s a tall order to defeat Trump in a primary. More achievable is doing damage to the incumbent – if the goal is to ultimately elect a Democrat.