Republican contest tightens; Sanders likely to take New Hampshire

U.S. TV & print news, January 1, 2015 – February 7, 2016

New York, February 8, 2016. The media has gotten the message and is focusing less on polling data going into the New Hampshire primary. With media coverage as a key factor in the race for the Republican and Democratic nominations, Sanders seems likely to perform well in New Hampshire while the Republican race has tightened, giving an advantage to Cruz and Rubio, according to new research from Media Tenor International.

“Rubio has pulled even with Cruz on visibility, strengthening his position. However, there is a possibility that Cruz and Rubio may split the Republican anti-Trump vote, allowing Trump to take the state anyway,” says Racheline Maltese, a researcher at Media Tenor. Polling data eventually follows the media results, but because the media leads, Media Tenor cautions against using polling data to predict primary outcomes.

In the Democratic race, Clinton and Sanders have both scored points against each other in the first week of February, but with increasing media visibility and a more positive tone, Sanders seems likely to take New Hampshire, despite some image improvement for Clinton, Media Tenor has found.

This research examined all 41,293 reports on political figures on three U.S. TV news programs and in eight opinion-leading print publications, January 1, 2015 – February 7, 2016.

For over 20 years Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy media content by bringing together the diverse parties. Media Tenor’s global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences.

For more information, please contact Racheline Maltese at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or +1 212-935-0210.