by Mark Silva

Sen. Hillary Clinton is holding her own among Democratic rivals in New Hampshire, scene of the first presidential primary election on Jan., according to a new poll, and former Gov. Mitt Romney holds an advantage over Republican rivals in that contest.

"After a considerable drop in support in last month’s poll, Hillary Clinton’s lead over her Democratic rivals for the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary has steadied,''
the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion poll reports today.

"Last month, Clinton saw her lead cut in half against her nearest competitor, Barack Obama. But, in this current poll, there is little difference between her support now and a month ago. In fact, the gap between the two top contenders is statistically unchanged.''

Read about the Republicans as well here, and see the Marist Poll's report: Download file

Marist has found 37 percent of likely Democratic primary voters supporting Clinton, followed by 23 percent for Obama and 18 percent for former Sen. John Edwards. The party's remaining candidates, Gov. Bill Richardson, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, and former Sen. Mike Gravel attracted just single-digit support in this survey.

Clinton is running stronger among Democrats than among independents likely to vote in the Democratic primary -- in New Hampshire, voters have a choice of which contest to vote in.

While "interest in a presidential candidate who will bring about change has not statistically increased from poll to poll,'' Marist reports, "over time this quality has become important to more Democratic primary voters. In October, voters were evenly divided among the top qualities they wanted in a presidential candidate including someone who could bring about change, was closer to them on the issues, shared their values, and was a strong leader.

"Although one in five likely Democratic primary voters still see each of these other qualities as important in a candidate, 29 percent now think having someone who will bring about change is most important,'' the institute adds. Among voters who share this view, Clinton and Obama "run competitively'' -- 32 percent of likely voters who want a candidate who will bring about change support Clinton, and 29 percent Obama.

In the Republican contest, Romney leads among likely GOP primary voters by 12 percentage points. While 29 percent say they support Romney, Sen. John McCain is running even with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 17 percent in this survey.

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas has drawn double-digit support for the first time in Marist's New Hampshire surveys -- 11 percent. The remaining candidates, Rep. Ron Paul, former Sen. Fred Thompson, and Reps. Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo drew single digits.

Romney is favorted among most groups, leading Giuliani and McCain by 14 percentage points among likely Republican voters and 10 percentage points among likely Republican leaning independent voters.

"There has been a gradual shift since October in the proportion of likely Republican primary voters who consider strong leadership to be the quality they value most in a presidential candidate,'' Marist reports. "In October, it topped the list -- 34 percentof likely Republican primary voters felt strong leadership was the most important attribute in a candidate. Now, about one in four likely voters considers shared values, strong leadership, or a candidate’s positions on the issues to be most important. ''

Romney leads his rivals among likely Republican primary voters who want a presidential candidate who shares their values or is closer to their positions on the issues. Romney runs competitively with Giuliani and McCain among likely voters who are looking for a strong leader.

This survey was run Nov. 28 through Dec. 2. It covered 1,343 registered voters and New Hampshire residents likely to register in time to vote in the primaries. The margin of error for each of the Republican and Democratic contests surveyed is plus or minus 4 percent.
tabulations.