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A new poll published by Public Policy Polling shows Florida Republicans Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio need to do a lot of work to become competitive in New Hampshire, the site of the first Republican Presidential Primary election next January. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is looking very strong, leading with 24 percent support. That’s 10 percentage points higher than the second-place Republican, Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. And what’s most impressive is that Walker was only at 3 percent when PPP surveyed New Hampshire voters back in January. Rand Paul is third with 12 percent, and Jeb Bush comes in...

"...Mr. Walker is the top presidential choice for 24 percent of GOP primary voters, according to the poll out Wednesday from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. ....Mr. Walker was viewed most favorably by GOP primary voters; 57 percent had a favorable opinion of him, compared to 13 percent who had an unfavorable opinion. He also led among a swath of the potential primary electorate, winning over GOP voters who identified themselves as “moderate,” “somewhat conservative” and “very conservative.”....

Two weeks ago, I noticed that national polling and noted that the media-fueled boomlet for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker might be fading. If that’s true, it’s a phenomenon that is not apparent in a recent poll of GOP primary voters in New Hampshire. The results of a new NH1 survey conducted by the Republican firm Reach Communications from April 8 – 9 suggests that Walker’s appeal to the Republican electorate in this critical Northeaster state continues to grow. The survey found Walker leading with almost 23 percent of the vote, well outside the survey’s 3.0 percent margin of error. Former...

Hillary Clinton is prepared to formally declare her intention to run for president on Sunday, ending years of speculation over her ambitions to return to the White House as the first female president of the United States. The political world’s worst-kept secret will officially escape out into the wild shortly before noon Eastern time with the launch of Clinton’s campaign website. As the Guardian first reported early Friday, the former secretary of state is scheduled to announce her second presidential candidacy on Twitter – alongside simultaneous video and email messages – while aboard a plane from New York to the...

A new poll shows New Hampshire Republicans leaning toward Scott Walker over Jeb Bush, with Rand Paul, who announced his candidacy and visited the Granite State this week, in third place. The NH1 poll released Friday shows Walker, the Wisconsin governor, leading Bush, 23 percent to 17 percent – outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Paul, the first-term Kentucky senator, is at 15 percent. The three leaders are the only candidates to register in double figures. The next tier is led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (9 percent), who entered the race last month,...

Rand Paul says he doesn't want to be grilled about abortion until Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz answers similarly tough questions. And Wasserman Schultz is hitting back -- highlighting Paul's testy interviews with female television anchors, too, by saying she hopes he can "respond without 'shushing' me." Paul, the Kentucky Republican senator who launched his 2016 presidential campaign this week, bristled at a question about abortion while talking with reporters in New Hampshire on Wednesday. "Why don't you ask the DNC, 'Is it OK to kill a seven-pound baby in the uterus?'" Paul said. His comment came after...

12,000 non-disabled adults were in Maine’s SNAP program before Jan. 1 - a number that dropped to 2,680 by the end of March. More than 9,000 Maine residents have been removed from the state's food stamp program since Republican Gov. Paul LePage's administration began enforcing work and volunteer requirements. The new rules prevent adults who are not disabled and do not have dependents from receiving food stamps for more than three months - unless they work at least 20 hours a week, participate in a work-training program or meet volunteering requirements. DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew said the goal of the...

A New Hampshire state representative exasperated by budget cuts to programs serving disabled people has mockingly suggested the next step would be euthanasia. NH1 reports that the comment by Democratic Rep. Michael Cahill of Newmarket came during Wednesday’s budget debate. Cahill said since budget writers “are refusing to raise revenues” to fund programs for the disabled, “have you looked at euthanasia?” …

Opponents of the bill are fearful that making it easier to carry a concealed handgun will create a charged environment where gun violence could quickly escalate. Zandra Rice Hawkins, Executive Director of Granite State Progress, said that allowing for constitutional carry will simply gut already weak gun laws. "In New Hampshire, it is already easier to legally carry a handgun than it is to legally drive a car," Hawkins told the Union Leader."SB 116 would make that worse. It is reasonable to deny concealed carry permits to those who are a danger to themselves or others."

Republicans are debating whether their path to the presidency in 2016 runs through the blue-collar Rust Belt states, or the demographically changing new South and Sunbelt states. For Democrats looking to retake the Senate, however, the formula is more clear-cut: Win back white working-class voters, or be consigned to a longer-term minority. Most of the Senate battlegrounds run through the Midwest—Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio—along with New Hampshire, which carries demographic similarities with those older, whiter Great Lakes states. To defeat the vulnerable Republican incumbents, Democrats have a challenging task ahead: Making inroads with blue-collar voters, who have been stubbornly resistant...

GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is getting a big polling bump after his announcement that he will seek his party's nomination, Public Policy Polling reports. Support for the first-term Texas senator, who opened his national campaign office in Houston on Tuesday, rose from 5 percent to 16 percent, PPP noted, pushing Cruz into the top-tier of Republicans who will likely make a primary run. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is leading the pack, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and then Cruz, whose popularity with conservatives in his party is growing, PPP said of its latest survey of likely GOP...

After the Senate gave approval to its budget plan early Friday morning, Sens. Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, got a version of their energy efficiency legislation passed by voice vote. The measure, passed when only Mr. Portman and Ms. Shaheen were on the floor, includes provisions exempting certain water heaters from pending Department of Energy regulations, and requires federal agencies to develop an implementation strategy for employing more energy-efficient technology, among other items. Mr. Portman said the bill has garnered widespread support and is part of an energy plan for the country “that can help...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are running first and second in an early look at the 2016 GOP presidential primary in New Hampshire, according to a Suffolk University poll released Thursday. Mr. Bush is the first choice for about 19 percent of likely GOP primary voters, followed by Mr. Walker at 14 percent and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky at 7 percent. Real estate mogul Donald Trump, who recently announced he was forming an exploratory committee....

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a possible candidate for president in 2016, told a private gathering of New Hampshire Republicans this month that he supported a pathway to legal status — but not citizenship — for undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to the chairwoman of the state’s Republican Party. The chairwoman, Jennifer Horn, described Mr. Walker’s statements on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported that Mr. Walker had endorsed eventual citizenship for those immigrants, which many Republicans oppose. A spokeswoman for Mr. Walker, Kirsten Kukowski, disputed those reports about Mr. Walker embracing a...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told a private dinner of New Hampshire Republicans this month that he backed the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the country and to eventually become eligible for citizenship, a position at odds with his previous public statements on the matter.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker may be on the verge of burning himself down before he actually gets started, given what is now becoming something of a circus regarding his actual stance on immigration. According to this new Wall Street Journal report, it’s quite possible a supporter of Jeb Bush, or another candidate went to the media regarding Walker’s recent comments at a private GOP dinner, it doesn’t matter. With three sources now (anonymously) on record, he appears to have Walkered himself right into this one. If his name becomes synonymous with waffling on a critical issue like immigration, his next...

Potential 2016 candidate Scott Walker’s staff is denying that he endorsed amnesty for illegal immigrants during a closed-door dinner with Republican donors in New Hampshire.“Governor Walker has been very clear that he does not support amnesty and believes that border security must be established and the rule of law must be followed,” said Kirsten Kukowski, the spokesman he recently hired from the Republican National Committee.“He does not support citizenship for illegal immigrants, and this story line is false,” she said. The denials follow a March 26 report in The Wall Street Journal, which said that Walker told New Hampshire...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A dispute over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s position on immigration erupted on Thursday, highlighting the Republican’s struggle to appeal to conservatives on the explosive issue as he prepares to launch a Republican presidential bid. The two-term governor has consistently opposed what he calls “amnesty” for immigrants in the country illegally, but his definition of amnesty has evolved. In a recent closed-door meeting with top New Hampshire Republicans, Walker said such immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country legally.

So, to recap: The Wall Street Journal claimed yesterday that Walker told an audience of New Hampshire Republicans that he supported a path to citizenship, which was — supposedly — a flip-flop from what Walker’s been telling reporters lately about opposing “amnesty.” Except that it’s not a flip-flop, as I tried to explain. Walker’s supported a path to citizenship for nearly 15 years. As recently as this month, when asked by Chris Wallace if he can imagine a path to citizenship if illegals paid a penalty first, he replied, “I believe there’s a way you can do that.” No...

The New England Freedom Conference Streaming Agenda  Friday, March 27 7:35 p.m. The Honorable Ted Cruz     Saturday, March 28 9:00 a.m. Katie Pavlich, bestselling author, Townhall columnist, Fox News contributor and YAF alumna 10:00 a.m. Steve Lonegan, director of Monetary Policy, American Principle in Action 11:00 a.m. Dr. Larry Schweikart, bestselling author and professor of history, University of Dayton 12:35 p.m. Robert Spencer, bestselling author and director, Jihad Watch 2:00 p.m. John Stossel, host of Stossel, Fox Business Channel 3:00 p.m. Student Panel: Young People Fighting the Free Speech Battles on CampusRobert Lucido, Amherst CollegeEmily Jashinsky, George Washington...