DURHAM, NH - Democrat Anne Kuster has overtaken Republican Charlie Bass in the race for New Hampshire's Second Congressional District seat. In the First Congressional District, Republican Frank Guinta continues to lead incumbent Carol Shea-Porter.

These findings are based on the latest WMUR/UNH New Hampshire Election Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. Seven hundred nine (709) randomly selected New Hampshire likely voters were interviewed by telephone between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12, 2010. Included was a subsample of 340 likely voters in the NH First Congressional District (margin of sampling error +/-5.3%), and a subsample of 369 Second Congressional District likely voters (margin of sampling error +/-5.1%).

2nd Congressional District
For the first time during the campaign, Democrat Ann McLane Kuster has overtaken her opponent, Republican Charlie Bass, in the Second Congressional District. Bass, who held this seat between 1995 and 2007, has seen his once formidable lead over Kuster evaporate since the Sept. 14 primary. Currently, 43 percent of likely 2nd Congressional District voters say they will vote for Kuster, 36 percent support Bass, 3 percent prefer Libertarian Howard Wilson, 1 percent favor independent Tim Van Blommesteyn, 1 percent prefer some other candidate, and 16% remain undecided. In late September, Bass held a narrow 43 percent to 38 percent lead over Kuster, but led by 18 percentage points in July.

1st Congressional District
In New Hampshire's First Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Carol Shea-Porter faces an increasingly difficult reelection fight to former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta. Currently, 48 percent of likely 1st Congressional District voters say they will vote for Guinta, 36% say they will vote for Shea-Porter, 2 percent support Libertarian Philip Hodson, 2 percent prefer independent Mark Whitman, Jr., 1 percent prefer some other candidate, and 11 percent are undecided.

For complete press release and detailed tabular results, please
click: http://www.unh.edu/survey-center/news/pdf/e2010_house101510.pdf

The UNH Survey Center has conducted survey research projects at the University of New Hampshire since 1976. The center has grown rapidly during the past 30 years and now conducts approximately 40 to 50 major survey projects each year. More information: http://www.unh.edu/survey-center/.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling more than 12,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

PHOTO
Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center.
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