N.H. Poll: McCain, Clinton Most Popular

Sen. John McCain, right, speaks during a campaign stop for Republican Senate candidate Mike Bourchard, left, in Southfield, Mich., Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006. Using the early front-runners, McCain and Democrat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the standard, several potential candidates are hiring staff, lending help to 2006 candidates and mulling over a formal announcement long before the first presidential primary vote. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya - AP)

DURHAM, N.H. -- John McCain and Hillary Clinton are the most popular potential candidates in New Hampshire for their parties' nomination for president in 2008, a poll released Thursday found.

A total of 515 likely voters were asked about 20 potential presidential candidates in the latest Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center for WMUR-TV.

McCain drew the most support among state Republicans, with 32 percent backing him. He was followed by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, with 19 percent; Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, with 15 percent; and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with 10 percent. Two percent favor some other candidate, and 14 percent are undecided.

Clinton was the favorite among Democrats polled, with 30 percent supporting her. John Edwards drew 16 percent, Al Gore drew 10 percent and Sen. John Kerry had the support of 9 percent of Democrats. Four percent prefer some other candidate and 17 percent are undecided.

New Hampshire traditionally holds the nation's first presidential primary, often giving candidates an early boost.

Included in the poll were 205 likely Democratic voters in 2008, and 206 likely Republican voters. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 6.8 percentage points for each group; it was plus or minus 4.3 percentage points for the total. The poll was conducted by phone Sept. 15-24.