Jeb Bush surges to second place in New Hampshire

(Image credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

Jeb Bush has risen to second place in New Hampshire, according to Emerson College Polling Society numbers released Wednesday. While Donald Trump still holds an impressive lead in the state with the support of 35 percent of Republican-leaning voters, Bush has 18 percent support, putting him in second place. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is the only other double-digit Republican, with 14 percent of support.

"Bush's performance may have been helped by the heavy spending on attack ads by his Super PAC, Right to Rise USA," one of Emerson's analysts, Marion Kinosian, said in the release. Right to Rise has reportedly spent $12 million in New Hampshire alone.

Wednesday's ECPS poll marks the first time Bush has polled in second place in New Hampshire, Talking Points Memo reports. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Kasich have all held second-place spots behind Trump in the months leading up to the primary.

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The ECPS poll was conducted on January 25 and 26 with 373 likely Republican voters responding. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.