Informal & Unscientific, But Bozo's Got The GOP Edge

Call it the primary before the primary. Voters in Manchester, NH headed to the polls 9/18 for the first round of municipal elections. And months before these same voters will cast a ballot in the first-in-the-nation WH primary, many say they are undecided.

An informal, unscientific survey of more than a hundred voters across NH's largest city found that nearly three in five had not made a decision at this point.

Hillary Clinton had a clear edge among Dems who indicated a preference. Meanwhile, GOPers appear to be most uncertain. "It's just one of those years where people are going to be undecided right up until the primary," said Mayor Frank Guinta, a GOPer seeking his second term. "I like everybody else want to meet [the candidates] three, four or five times before I make a decision, and it's tough because on both sides of the aisle you have very strong candidates."

Sixteen of 51 Dems surveyed chose Clinton, with no other candidate getting more than three votes. Twenty five were undecided, including Donna Smith, a voter in Ward 8 who has narrowed her chose to Clinton or Barack Obama.

"I think that Hillary has experience, obviously. But I'm not sure if the woman factor is going to be a weakness. As far as Obama goes, before the convention no one knew who he was. But he definitely has that spark."

Betsi Devries, a state senator and Manchester alderman who has endorsed Clinton, said Dems are motivated regardless of their preference. "I think we have so many excellent Democratic candidates to choose from," Devries said.

Twenty-four of the 44 voters who identified as GOPers said they were undecided. Mitt Romney got six votes, followed by John McCain with five. "We don't have statesmen anymore," said Alana Demers, a GOPer in Ward 1 who is leaning toward Ron Paul. "Right now, Bozo The Clown looks better than anyone," another GOP voter said as she headed into the polling site.

Nearly all of the unaffiliated voters surveyed were uncertain not only about which candidate they preferred, but also in which primary they'd vote. The three voters who had decided said they were planning to vote for Dems.

"Probably Iraq has a lot to do with it," said Alec Deroches, an unaffiliated voter in Ward 8. Guinta said he was inclined to agree with polling that showed most independents were likely to cast Democratic ballots. But he said a lot could change in three months. "You may see some shifting come back to the Republicans," he said.

At each of the four polling places, there was only a hint of presidential politics. Volunteers for Chris Dodd were seen asking voters to fill out surveys on issues in Ward 8. In Ward 5, one of the more Dem-leaning in the city, a volunteer for the leading mayoral challenger was also giving out Obama literature. And in Ward 10, which has a slight Dem registration edge but has supported GOP candidates in recent years, a few sign wavers were sporting Clinton buttons.

The Raw Numbers:

Dems:
Undecided 25
Clinton 16
Obama 3
Edwards 3
Richardson 2
Biden 1
Kucinich 1

GOPers:
Undecided 24
Romney 6
McCain 5
Giuliani 3
Paul 3
Huckabee 2
F. Thompson 1

Unaffiliated:
Undecided 17
Clinton 2
Obama 1

[MIKE MEMOLI].