U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., appears to have gained significant ground on the strength of her performance in last week’s Democratic presidential debates. And U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is also finding new support, as well.
Their gains come at the expense of Vice President Joe Biden — whom Harris sparred with during the second debate over his opposition decades ago to busing — and from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
A new CNN poll released Monday showed Biden still in first place among a nationwide poll of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who are registered to vote, with 22% support.
But that’s down from 32% from a similar poll in late May.
Harris more than doubled her standing and was in second place, with 17%, while Warren had 15%, more than double her polling in May.
Sanders dipped 4 percentage points in the latest poll, to 14%, followed by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 4%, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., at 3%, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, 3%, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., 2%, and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, all at 1%.
One of the candidates who was barely a blip in the polling, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is slated to start on a seven-day, 10-county tour of New Hampshire on Wednesday, including an event highlighting community service on Friday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. at the Claremont Soup Kitchen.
Meanwhile, Gabbard will also be campaigning in the Upper Valley on Friday. She is holding a meet-and-greet at 11 a.m at the Haverhill Public Library on Court Street.
Pence to visit N.H.Republican Gov. Chris Sununu will get some face time — and TV exposure — on Tuesday as he hosts Vice President Mike Pence on a visit to the Granite State.
Pence is coming to town to learn about New Hampshire’s “innovative solutions to the opioid crisis,” according to Sununu’s office. That includes a visit to a recovery center in Salem, N.H.
Toe into the water A Concord lawyer who has been a thorn in the side of the New Hampshire status quo has taken a major step toward challenging Sununu.
Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky on Monday announced the formation of a 175-member exploratory committee for a likely gubernatorial run. Volinksy also said he has raised about $125,000 for a potential Democratic gubernatorial bid.
“The challenges facing New Hampshire are immense, whether it’s our school funding crisis or the growing gap between rich and poor, or the existential threat of climate change,” said Volinsky, who was the lead attorney in the landmark Claremont school-funding case. “Chris Sununu is not the right person to guide our state through these challenges.”
Among the members of his committee are state Reps. George Sykes, D-Lebanon, Linda Tanner, D-Sunapee, Denny Ruprecht, D-Landaff, Josh Adjutant, D-Grafton, Tim Josephson, D- Canaan and Gary Merchant, D-Claremont.
Also on the committee is Claremont lawyer Tom Connair, who also played a major role in the landmark school funding lawsuit, and Newport resident Kathy Hubert, who has been an active schools supporter as well.
Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes, a Concord Democrat, is also said to be considering a challenge to Sununu.
Briefly noted ■ U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., was in the Upper Valley on Monday, visiting with first-term Grafton County Sheriff Jeff Stiegler to discuss his department’s computer forensics lab, which can help find evidence of child pornography and attempted luring on a suspect’s computer equipment. Hassan sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
■ Dartmouth College had some good news on the big-name front. Government professor Brendan Nyhan, who has done important work on the role of fake news in American elections, has returned to Dartmouth, after departing last year for the University of Michigan.
Nyhan said on Twitter that he had enjoyed Ann Arbor but “we ultimately realized that Dartmouth and Hanover are the best fit for us as a family. Back to the woods!”
Mary Nyhan, a public health professional, had worked for Dartmouth’s Student Wellness Center before their departure. She will be returning to Dartmouth as assistant dean of undergraduate students in the Division of Student Affairs.
■U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said on Monday he has filed a bipartisan bill to boost the minimum amount of funding small states like Vermont could receive for the federal Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program from $300,000 to $750,000. Welch has always been known for his efforts to reach across the aisle, but his partner in this one is U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, the wealthy former tech executive who pleaded guilty in 2017 to misdemeanor assault after body-slamming a reporter who was trying to cover his campaign.
Yes, we’re always going to remind people of that.
John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.