Jeanne Shaheen up 5 points in New Hampshire Senate race: poll

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is ahead by 5 points in what could be an increasingly competitive U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire.

Ms. Shaheen leads Republican Scott Brown, 50 percent to 45 percent, among likely voters in a new American Research Group poll in the Granite State.

New Hampshire had long been considered among the “second tier” races this year for the GOP to knock off a Democratic incumbent in hopes of netting the six seats the party needs to re-take control of the Senate, and Ms. Shaheen had led by double digits in some polls earlier in the year.

But some recent polls have shown the race tightening. She currently holds a 3.8 percentage point lead over Mr. Brown, who used to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate, in the latest RealClearPolitics average of recent public polling on the race.