Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton's lead over rival Barack Obama in New Hampshire has vanished a month before the state's nominating primary in the race for the White House, a poll showed today.
The WMUR/CNN poll showed the US senator from New York leading Mr Obama 31 per cent to 30 per cent in New Hampshire, which on January 8th holds the first primary in the run-up to the November 2008 presidential election.
The survey had a 5 percentage point error margin. Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards was in third place, with 16 per cent, followed by New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson at 7 per cent.
Among Republicans, former Arkansas Gov Mike Huckabee remains mired in single digits in New Hampshire despite a rapid rise in national polls.
Former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney leads his Republican rivals in New Hampshire with 32 per cent support, followed by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who are tied at 19 per cent, and Huckabee at 9 per cent.
The poll showed Ms Clinton's support falling 5 percentage points from last month, while Mr Obama has gained 8 percentage points.
Ms Clinton's decline was largely due to a loss of support among women, from 43 per cent to 33 per cent. The poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Centre, was taken from December 6th to December 10th, including last weekend when talk show host Oprah Winfrey campaigned with Obama in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire.
The findings point to a fiercely competitive race in New Hampshire months after CNN/WMUR survey in September gave Clinton a lead of more than 20 points over Obama, a US senator from Illinois.
That could mean new trouble for Clinton, who was recently edged out of first place by Obama in a Des Moines Register newspaper poll in Iowa, which holds the first contest of the party nominating process with its January 3rd caucuses.