New Hampshire Republican primary: latest polls, February 7, 2016
U.S. 2016 Elections – Republican candidates - additional information
Only a month into the presidential elections year and American voters, as well as domestic and international observers, have already been taken on several rollercoaster rides. Vermont Senator and former Congressman Bernie Sanders seems dangerously close to leaving former Secretary of State and New York Senator Hillary Clinton out of the presidential race yet again, while billionaire businessman Donald Trump, who was once believed to be an unlikely candidate, now leads in opinion polls as the possible GOP nomination in the race for the highest office. He is also shown leading in opinion polls regarding the New Hampshire primary, with an average of 31 percent of voter support.
After the February 1, 2016 Iowa caucus, a total of 26 GOP candidates remain on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary elections, including some perennial candidates and minor local political figures. Some 9 major Republican presidential hopefuls are still running, namely Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and last but not least Donald Trump. Three others big names have withdrawn following low scores in the Iowa caucus, namely: former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The Iowa caucus was won by Cruz, with 51,649 votes, followed by Trump, with 45,416 and Rubio, with 43,132 popular votes.
In the 2012 New Hampshire primaries, a record 33 GOP candidates appeared on the voting ballot, although a considerably lower number were considered viable. The primary was won by Former Governor of Massachusetts and the eventual runner-up in the 2008 elections Mitt Romney, with 39.4 percent of votes. Texas Representative Ron Paul came in second, while former Utah Governor and current Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman came in third.