Advertisement Democratic-leaning pollster finds NH voters disagree with Ayotte’s opposition to SCOTUS hearings, vote Public Policy Polling also finds Ayotte-Hassan, Clinton-Trump matchups virtual dead heats Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A new Granite State survey by a Democratic-leaning pollster shows continued voter disagreement with Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s opposition to Senate confirmation hearings and a vote on President Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee.But the poll also shows the Republican incumbent in a continued neck and neck race with her Democratic challenger, Gov. Maggie Hassan.The poll by Public Policy Polling, recently completed for the progressive group Americans United for Change, shows that 68 percent of voters in the Granite State strongly favor U.S. Senate confirmation hearings and a vote on Obama nominee Judge Merrick Garland. Only 22 percent said Garland “should be rejected without being given any consideration.”The poll also shows that Ayotte’s opposition to having confirmation hearings for Garland makes 44 percent of voters less likely to vote for her, while 36 percent said it would make no difference and 20 percent said it would make them more likely to vote for her. It also shows that 44 percent of those polled disapproved of her job performance, while 40 percent approved and 16 percent were not sure.At the same time, however, Ayotte is in a virtual tie with Hassan, with 44 percent favoring Hassan, 42 percent favoring Ayotte and 15 percent undecided.According to PPP, 578 registered New Hampshire voters were interviewed for the poll, which, PPP said, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent. The pollster said 43 percent of those interviewed were independent, while 30 percent were Republicans and 27 percent were Democrats.In February, when the court issue was at the height of public debate following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Ayotte fared worse among voters in a Public Policy Polling survey.In that poll, 51 percent of voters saying her opposition to confirming a replacement, “no matter who it was,” would make them less likely to vote for her and 21 percent saying it would not make a difference. Garland was nominated on March 16.Ayotte’s job approval rating in February was 42 percent, while 48 percent disapproved.The new poll also looked at the presidential race in New Hampshire, finding Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly ahead of Republican Donald Trump – 43 percent to 39 percent, with 18 percent undecided.Despite the close margin in the matchup, 55 percent said they do not trust Trump to nominate a new Supreme Court justice, while 40 percent said they trust him and 6 percent were undecided. Asked who they would trust more to nominate a Supreme Court justice – Trump or President Obama -- 53 percent of those polled said Obama and 39 percent said Trump. There was no Clinton option in that question.New Hampshire was among six swing states in which Republican senators are up for re-election included in the new poll.PPP said the results in the other five states -- Arizona, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – were similar with respect to the questions about the Supreme Court, hurting the re-election chances of Sens. John McCain, Chuck Grassley, Rob Portman, Patrick Toomey and Ron Johnson.At least 60 percent of voters in each state supported hearings for Garland. New Hampshire voters, at 68 percent, had the highest level of support.Click here for the New Hampshire polling memo. Click here for the memo covering all six states.