PPP's newest New Hampshire poll finds that Maggie Hassan will be clearly favored if she runs for another term as Governor- but if she moves on to a Senate bid Republicans may start out with a slight advantage in the race to replace her.

Hassan, who is generally popular with a 48/42 approval rating, would lead Chris Sununu 48/41 and Jeb Bradley 48/39 in hypothetical contests. Those margins are pretty much in line with what she won by last year. If Hassan doesn't seek reelection most of the Democrats named as potential replacements for her would start out with a name recognition deficit against their likely Republican opponents. While Sununu (71% name recognition) and Bradley (56% name recognition) are both known to a majority of voters in the state, the Democratic trio of Terie Norelli (27% name recognition), Chris Pappas (25% name recognition), and Colin Van Ostern (21% name recognition) are all largely unknown.

That disparity in name id likely explains why Sununu and Bradley lead Norelli, Pappas, and Van Ostern by 4-7 points in hypothetical contests. Sununu is up 38/34 on Pappas, 39/34 on Norelli, and 39/32 on Van Ostern. Bradley is up 38/33 on Pappas, 39/33 on Norelli, and 38/31 on Van Ostern. With large swaths of voters undecided in every possible match up the race is pretty undefined at this point.

Other notes from New Hampshire:

-60% of voters in the state support a policy that sets a goal of producing 50% of America's energy needs from renewable sources by 2030, compared to only 25% of voters who oppose that concept. Among the critical independent voters who tend to decide elections in New Hampshire support for that is even more emphatic, with 62% of them in favor of it to only 18% who are opposed.

-Granite State voters think funding for public schools needs to be increased, and that one of the outcomes of that increased funding should be higher teacher salaries. 57% of voters think education funding should be increased compared to only 16% who think it should be decreased and 22% who think it's fine where it is. 47% think teachers are paid too little, to just 15% who think they're paid too much. With independents 59% think there needs to be more money given to public schools and 50% believe teachers are under paid.