With Mitt Romney reportedly mulling a third-party presidential run to spoil Donald Trump's presumptive nomination —
WBUR says an analysis of a recent
New Hampshire poll reveals that such a candidacy could not only hurt Trump, but also Hillary Clinton.
"Among likely New Hampshire voters Clinton comes out on top against Romney and Trump, but the overall margin moves only slightly, as both she and Trump lose supporters to Romney," Steve Koczela and Rich Parr of the MassINC Polling Group write on WBUR's Politicker blog.
"But Romney's presence does not help her as much as might be expected. This is because she also loses a healthy chunk of voters to Romney; 15 percent of Clinton voters would defect to Romney, compared with 22 percent of Trump's camp."
Koczela and Parr say if the intention is to act as a spoiler, the "Never Trump" crowd would "prefer to see a more one-sided effect, where Romney's presence has a more disproportionately negative impact on Trump.
"But would-be Romney supporters are about equal in their dislike and distrust of Clinton and Trump. As a result, adding Romney to the mix is closer to a wash than might be expected."
Last Saturday,
The Washington Post reported that a small GOP group, including Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and two-time presidential candidate, are batting around ideas for a third-party candidate — including Romney himself.
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