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UNH Poll Puts AOC Slightly Ahead in New Hampshire as Rubio Narrows Vance’s GOP Lead

The July Granite State Poll offers an early look at 2028 nominating dynamics that could shift sharply if Democrats keep New Hampshire early on the primary calendar.

Overview

  • The University of New Hampshire’s Granite State Poll, conducted July 15–20 and released July 22–23, found Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez leading likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire with 22% to Pete Buttigieg’s 21%.
  • The survey shows AOC’s strength concentrated among self‑described socialists and progressives while Buttigieg draws from progressives, liberals and moderates, and several previously higher‑rated Democrats — including Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris — fell in New Hampshire since February.
  • On the Republican side the poll put Vice President JD Vance at 36% and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 26%, a notable gain for Rubio that reduced Vance’s earlier margin in the state.
  • Methodology and limits matter: the online poll sampled about 1,458 New Hampshire residents with smaller party subsamples (roughly 648 Democrats and 579 Republicans), has margins of error larger for subsamples, tests a hypothetical race well before formal campaigns and therefore serves as an early snapshot not a forecast.
  • The practical takeaway is strategic: the final Democratic nominating calendar and endorsements — including President Trump’s influence on GOP voters — could amplify or erase these New Hampshire leads, so the poll signals shifting coalitions but not a settled race.