While political leaders in a variety of states have fallen all over themselves to move up and vote sooner in the Presidential nominating sweepstakes, American adults aren’t convinced the prize of an early vote is all that great.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 24% of Americans believe that people in Iowa and New Hampshire are lucky because they get to vote first in the Presidential nominating process. Nearly twice as many, 45%, say those same voters are unlucky because they have to put up with the candidates and campaigns during the holiday season.

This year, with the Iowa caucuses scheduled for January 3 and the New Hampshire primaries set for January 8, candidates will be faced with the awkward necessity of reaching out to voters in those states during a time when many Americans would rather be with family and friends.

The prevailing view that early state voters are unlucky cuts across partisan and demographic lines. Younger voters are a bit more likely to consider those early voters lucky—27% of those under 30 hold that positive view while just 42% say they are unlucky. Among senior citizens, just 19% say the people of Iowa and New Hampshire are lucky while 51% take the opposite view.

Among Democrats in Iowa, there is essentially a three-way tie for the lead between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Among Republicans, it’s currently a two-man race in Iowa between Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

In New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton leads among Democrats and Mitt Romney leads among Republicans.

The survey was conducted in partnership with Fox Television Stations, Inc.

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