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DURHAM, N.H. —
A new poll shows the presidential race in New Hampshire has tightened up.
The latest WMUR Granite State Poll shows that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has closed the gap with President Barack Obama and now trails by 6 points, compared to 15 points last week.
The poll shows Obama leading 47 to 41 percent, with 9 percent saying they are undecided. Obama's lead shrank after a debate performance many said was weak, though 57 percent of the respondents in the poll weighed in before the debate.
The poll of 559 likely voters was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center from Sept. 30 through Oct. 6 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
"With 30 days left, I think this is a jump ball," said pollster Andy Smith. "I think the difference will still be turnout, which party is able to motivate their more marginal supporters out to the polls. And, watch where the independents go."
The poll indicates Romney's resurgence is largely due to female voters giving him a second look.
"Historically, women have been going strongly for Democrats, and they have been going very, very strongly for Obama," Smith said.
But Smith said things are shifting in a big way among female voters. Last week, the president held a 27-point lead among New Hampshire women, but that number is now down to 9.
"We're seeing that in New Hampshire, and we are seeing that across the country," Smith said. "And I think that this means that this election is in a very, very different position now that it was two weeks ago."
Despite the shift, a majority of voters still think Obama will win, with 61 percent saying he will be re-elected compared to 25 percent who say Romney will win. In September, 51 percent thought Obama would win.