UMass Poll: Clam chowder more popular than any candidate among NH voters

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Clam chowder. Credit/Wikimedia Commons

LOWELL, Mass. – New polling data released by the University of Massachusetts at Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion and YouGov holds good news for Joe Biden, Chris Sununu, Jeanne Shaheen, Hannaford supermarkets and of course, clam chowder.

Over an eight-day span, the poll took 657 likely New Hampshire voters, highlighted by November’s election for U.S. President.

On that topic, Democratic Nominee Joe Biden held a 52 to 44 percent lead over Donald Trump, with nine percent of registered Republicans and 50 percent of registered independents saying they would vote for Biden. When third-party candidates were removed, Biden narrowly improved to 53 percent while Trump remained level.

However, when asked who would win the election, Biden led by only a five-point margin, with 23 percent of respondents believing Biden would cheat “a great deal” and 40 percent of respondents believing Trump would cheat “a great deal” in order to win.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Democratic nominee and incumbent Jeanne Shaheen held a 56 to 37 percent lead over Corky Messner, with 17 percent of Republicans saying they would vote for Shaheen. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu held similar cross-party appeal in his race for a third term, capturing 27 percent of Democrats en route to a 60 to 34 percent edge over Democratic nominee Dan Feltes.

The poll also sought opinions on other people, things and organizations, led by Hannaford Supermarkets, which received an 82 percent approval rating against just eight percent disapproval.

Among those receiving more support than any candidate in the head-to-head polls included clam chowder (67 percent approval), corn chowder (65 percent approval) Stonyfield Yogurt (63 percent approval), Shaw’s Supermarkets (63 percent approval), the Common Man Chain of Restaurants (63 percent approval), and NIH Director Anthony Fauci (63 percent approval). In regard to favorability, Sununu tied Fauci, Stonyfield, Shaw’s and the Common Man at 63 percent.

The poll also noted that respondents had an almost three-times higher unfavorable response when comparing people from Vermont (nine percent disapproval) versus people from Massachusetts (25 percent disapproval), with one percent of respondents having never heard of people from Massachusetts or Vermont.

A full copy of the poll can be found here.

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.