In an election for United States Senator from New Hampshire today, 10/06/08, Democrat Jane Shaheen edges incumbent Republican John Sununu 48% to 40%, with Libertarian Ken Blevens appearing to take just enough votes from Sununu to complicate his bid to hold the seat, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WBZ-TV in Boston.

The race is an exact rematch of the 2002 US Senate race, which ended: Sununu 51%, Shaheen 46%, Blevens 2%. Today’s survey was conducted at a time of unprecedented economic and political turmoil in the United States, and some of the 7% who tell SurveyUSA they are voting for Blevens may be doing to protest Congress’s handling of a $700 billion economic rescue plan. Such a protest may or may not hold-up on Election Day. Sununu voted for the rescue.

Sununu keeps it close among men, voters age 35 to 49, Independents, those who have not graduated from college and those who think the USA is a Super Power. Sununu leads among gun owners, Pro-Life voters, regular church goers, Conservatives and Republicans. But Shaheen leads by 17 points among women, which trumps everything else. At the moment, Shaheen runs 5 points weaker than Barack Obama, the Democrat at the top of the ticket. But Sununu’s 40% is exactly the same as the 40% that John McCain gets. To hold his Senate seat, Sununu must significantly out-perform McCain, and hope the Blevens protest recedes back to 2% by Election Day.