DURHAM, N.H. – Gov. John Lynch remains very popular in New Hampshire, but Granite Staters are still concerned about the economy and the state budget, according to the latest WMUR Granite State Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

Five hundred sixteen (516) randomly selected New Hampshire adults were interviewed by telephone between June 21 and July 1, 2011. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.3 percent.

“Gov. John Lynch continues to enjoy strong approval for the job he is doing as governor. In the most recent Granite State Poll, 65 percent of New Hampshire adults say they approve of the way he is handling his job as governor, 23 percent disapprove, and 12 percent are neutral or don’t know,” said Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center.

Lynch continues to have strong support among Democrats (82 percent approve) and also receives majority support from independents (54 percent) and Republicans (52 percent).

Lynch’s personal favorability ratings are also high. In the latest Granite State Poll, 66 percent of New Hampshire adults say they have a favorable opinion of Lynch, 19 percent have an unfavorable opinion, 10 percent are neutral, and 5 percent say they don’t know enough about him to say.

Lynch’s net favorability rating, the percentage having a favorable opinion minus the percentage having an unfavorable opinion, remains very high, +47 percent. Lynch receives a high net favorability from Democrats (+71 percent) as well as from Independents (+42 percent), and even receives positive net favorability ratings from Republicans (+25 percent).

Concerns about the state’s economy and unemployment continue to be seen as the most important problem facing the state (34 percent), followed by concerns about the state budget (18 percent). Other frequently cited concerns are the newly elected Republican legislature (6 percent), high taxes (6 percent), and health care (4 percent). Twelve percent of Democrats said the GOP legislature is the most important problem facing the state.

Most New Hampshire residents believe the state is headed in the right direction. Currently, 61 percent of New Hampshire adults feel the state is heading in the right direction, 32 percent think the state is seriously off on the wrong track, and 7 percent don’t know. This represents a return to the longer-term trend after a drop in the April Granite State Poll. There is bipartisan consensus about the direction the state is heading -- majorities of Democrats (64 percent), Republicans (61 percent), and independents (55 percent), all say the state is headed in the right direction.

For complete tabular results, visit http://www.unh.edu/survey-center/news/pdf/gsp2011_summer_govapp070811.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.

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 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center.
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