A quarter of New Hampshire voters don't know who they favor in next year's Senate race, according to a University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll conducted Sept. 25 to Oct. 2.

Among voters with a preference, though, former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, had a 7-point lead over Democratic Rep. Paul W. Hodes, the survey found.

Ayotte led Hodes 40 percent to 33 percent -- a slight increase over her 4 point advantage in a June poll.

Republican Kelly Ayotte is leading Democratic Rep. Paul W. Hodes among unaffiliated voters in New Hampshire's Senate race, according to a Sept. 14 Rasmussen Reports poll of likely voters.

Ayotte, who served as the state's U.S. attorney until she resigned in July to focus on her Senate campaign, received 81 percent support from Republicans and Hodes received 81 percent support from Democrats, but Ayotte led Hodes among unaffiliated voters by 14 points.

In a hypothetical match-up of all voters, Ayotte led Hodes 46 percent to 38 percent with 5 percent of respondents indicating their preference for another candidate and 12 percent undecided. The poll's margin of error is 4.5 percentage points.

The race to fill retiring Sen. Judd Gregg's seat in 2010 is shaping up as a competitive one with Rep. Paul Hodes holding a slight lead if he runs against Charlie Bass and in a statistical tie if his opponent is Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, according to a Research 2000 poll conducted July 13-15.

Hodes leads Bass 42 percent to 37 percent with 19 percent undecided while Ayotte edges Hodes 39 percent to 38 percent with 21 percent undecided. the margin of error is 4 points. When the favorability ratings of the three are tested, the most important figure seems to be the number of people who have no opinion, which ranges from 45 percent for Hodes to 46 percent for bass and 51 percent for Ayotte.

When it comes to three-term Democratic Gov. John Lynch, 61 percent of voters say they would re-elect him in 2010, 24 percent who consider voting for someone else and 15 percent want to replace him.

Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes leaders former GOP Sen. John Sununu by 40 percent to 34 percent with 26 percent undecided in a contest to fill the open seat of retiring Republican Sen. Judd Gregg in 2010, according to an American Research Group poll conducted June 27-29. The margin of error is 4.2 points.

Both enjoy strong support from their respective parties, but they pretty much split unaffiliated voters with Hodes getting 33 percent, Sunun 30 percent and 37 percent undecided. Hodes has an 11 point lead among women, while men are evenly divided.

To see how the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.

Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes, who has announced he is running for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, holds small leads when matched against two potential GOP opponents, but both are well within the margin of error, according to a poll by Dartmouth University's Nelson Rockfeller Center conducted April 27 - May 1.

Hodes leads former Sen. John Sununu, who lost his seat to Jeanne Shaheen last year, by 37.9 percent to 35.4 percent with 26.7 percent undecided. Hodes holds an even smaller lead over former Rep. Charlie Bass - 31.1. percent to 30.1 percent with 38.8 percent undecided. Hodes beat Bass for New Hampshire's 2d district seat in 2006. The margin of error is 5 points.

The poll also measured voter sentiment on the issue of same sex marriage, finding them 44.8 percent to 40.8 percent against it. The New Hampshire Senate voted to legalize same-sex marriage by a narrow 13 to 11 vote last month.

If either former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu or current Republican Sen. Judd Gregg run for the Senate in New Hampshire next year, the GOP would be narrowly favored to hold the seat in the Democratic-trending state, according to a new poll.

A Granite State Poll conducted by The University of New Hampshire Survey Center found Democratic Rep. Paul W. Hodes narrowly trailing Sununu in one potential match-up and significantly trailing Gregg in another.

Two-term Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes has a 42 percent to 36 percent lead over former Republican Sen. John Sununu to fill the seat of GOP Sen. Judd Gregg who has said he was not running for re-election, according to an American Research Group poll conducted March 27-30. Twenty-two percent of voters were undecided and the margin of error was 4.2 points.

Gregg, of course, made other news this year when he was named by President Obama to be Commerce Secretary and then withdrew citing policy differences with the administration. Sununu lost his seat to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.