Shaheen, Sununu in ad trench warfare

Tune into WMUR for the news at 5, 6, or 11, and the dominant political ads aren't for John McCain and Barack Obama. It's Jeanne Shaheen, John Sununu, and their assorted allies, whacking each other with two-by-fours all evening long.

So far, though, the ad battles have been the political equivalent of trench warfare: Lots of fire back and forth, but very little territory changing hands.

Take a look at the internals of my colleague Andy Smith's latest poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center:

Both candidates made slight gains among their fellow partisans since July.

Shaheen retains an edge here, leading among registered Democrats, 86 percent to 8 percent.

Sununu reached 80 percent support among registered Republicans, but 15 percent say they will vote for the Democrat.

The incumbent Republican did narrow Shaheen's lead among undeclared voters, from 34-48 to 40-49.

In this war of attrition, both candidates now sit at + 7 net favorability.

If you watched the 11 o'clock news last night, you have a pretty good idea why that is.

Dante Scala teaches American politics at the University of New Hampshire and blogs at Graniteprof.