Democrat Chris Pappas leads his Republican challenger Eddie Edwards in the bid for New Hampshire’s 1st District, according to a University of New Hampshire poll released on Monday.
In the race to replace retiring Democratic Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, Executive Councilor and restauranteur Pappas has the support of 53 percent of likely voters, while 40 percent back former South Hampton Police Chief Edwards. Libertarian Dan Belforti received 3 percent and 4 percent are undecided.
Edwards, however, has a 17-percentage-point lead over Pappas among independents.
The poll is a stark contrast to one released last week by Emerson College, which showed a virtual tie, with Pappas at 48 percent and Edwards at 46 percent.
The race has been touted as historic, since voters will either pick Pappas as the first openly-gay congressman from the state or Edwards will become New Hampshire’s first black congressman.
The survey was conducted between Nov. 1-4 among 309 likely voters in the district. It has a margin of sampling error of +/-5.6 percent.