Coming off President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance last week, former President Donald Trump surged ahead by two points in a new poll out of New Hampshire published on Monday.

The Saint Anselm College poll found 44% of New Hampshire voters said they would support Trump, compared to 42% who said Biden was their choice. Another 4% said they planned to vote for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

A similar poll conducted in December found Biden had a 10-point lead in the state. In this most recent poll, Biden is viewed favorably by 39% of respondents and unfavorably by 59%, while Trump holds a 42% favorable and 57% unfavorable rating. 

“Biden leads among voters who dislike both candidates. However, more Democratic voters are drifting toward independent candidates than their Republican counterparts,” New Hampshire Institute of Politics Director Neil Levesque said. “While 89% of Republicans are solidly backing Trump, Biden secures the support of only 82% of Democrats.”

Of those polled who watched the debate, 54% said Trump won, while just 6% said Biden won and 39% said there was no winner. The poll also found that 81% of poll respondents said the debate won’t affect their vote in November. 

Biden’s poor debate performance last week renewed concerns about whether he’ll be able to beat Trump or hold office for four more years. Biden has continued to defend his debate performance amid calls for him to drop out of the race. Notably, no Democratic lawmakers have joined those calls.

New Hampshire is considered to be “likely Democratic,” according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. In an average of statewide polling, Biden is still leading, although these averages do not factor in the most recent St. Anselm poll. 

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The last time a Republican candidate won the state of New Hampshire in a presidential election was George W. Bush in 2000. Biden won New Hampshire by seven points last cycle, earning 52.7% of the vote, compared to Trump’s 45.4%. 

The poll included the views of 1,700 registered voters from June 28-29. The margin of error is about 2.3%.

BEDFORD, NH — Are you looking to start your own farm on a historic property?

97 Stowell Road in Bedford, New Hampshire, might be for you. The property features a post and beam home, constructed in the late-1980s, known as the Stowell’s Mill property. The home has more than 11 acres with a covered bridge that accesses an equestrian barn parcel. The property has fields and stone walls everywhere.

The home also features smart technology, energy-saving systems, a guest or au pair suite with a separate wing, and a heated garage and an office that could be used as an in-law suite.

New Hampshire’s utility companies are expected to change their rates for electricity starting on August 1. Energy costs could go up for some and down for others.

The state’s three investor-owned utilities – Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty – are expected to adopt similar rates, roughly 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Those are known as “supply” rates, and make up around half of a monthly energy bill.

That rate is largely determined by the price utility companies are paying generators for power and companies don’t profit off of those costs. The supply rate changes twice a year, in August and February.

For Eversource and Liberty customers, the change will be a hike from current rates. Average Eversource customers could pay about $14 more per month, and Liberty customers could pay about $8more each month. Eversource’s rates are not final, with state regulators asking for more information by July 10th.

For Unitil customers, the new rate is lower than the utility’s current rate, a drop of about a dollar per month.

The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s rate is about two cents lower than the other utilities, at 8.6 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s down from their current rate, a decrease they say will save customers roughly between $8 and $16 a month.

For customers with the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, who now make up more than 15% of active accounts in the state, according to that organization, rates are going up slightly. But their basic rate will be lower than the investor-owned utilities and the same as the Cooperative’s. Their rate for power with 50% renewable content is also lower than the three investor-owned utilities.

Eversource customers will also see an increase on their distribution charge, which represents the cost of delivering electricity. That could be about an extra $9 a month.

In 2025, customers would see an additional increase of about $13.

The company says that increase is due to the costs of more frequent and unpredictable storms, upgrades for reliability, and efforts to strengthen the energy system as it ages and new technology comes online.