Outside the Beltway

Romney Back To Big Lead In New Hampshire

Doug Mataconis · Monday, December 26, 2011 · 2 comments

A new Boston Globe poll shows that Mitt Romney has mostly regained the big lead he’s had in New Hampshire for most of the year:

Newt Gingrich’s surge has slowed and Ron Paul has gained momentum, but Mitt Romney remains the clear front-runner in New Hampshire with a little more than two weeks until the nation’s first primary, according to a new Boston Globe poll.

Romney has the support of 39 percent of the state’s likely Republican voters, a drop of 3 percentage points since last month but a strong indication he is weathering Gingrich’s national comeback in a state vital to his campaign.

In the closely watched contest for second place, Gingrich and Paul are tied with 17 percent each, just ahead of Jon Huntsman, who has the support of 11 percent of likely Republican voters.

But as the race hurtles toward the Jan. 10 primary, Paul has been gaining the most in New Hampshire. His support has risen by 5 percentage points since November, while Huntsman has picked up 3 percentage points in the last month and Gingrich has gained 2.

The momentum for Paul raises the prospect that he, not Gingrich, could emerge as the strongest early challenger to Romney if the Texas congressman can hold on to his lead in Iowa and capture second place in New Hampshire.

The remainder of the Republican field remains largely sidelined in New Hampshire. Rick Santorum is in fourth place, with support from 3 percent of the state’s likely Republican voters, followed by Michele Bachmann at 2 percent and Rick Perry at 1 percent.

With two weeks to go, it looks like Newt Gingrich’s rise in the Granite State lasted for an even shorter time than his rise in Iowa did and that regardless of what happens in Iowa in 8 days, Mitt Romney seems set to score a major victory in New Hampshire on January 10th. If it turns out that Romney scores a victory in Iowa the week before that, then Mitt Romney could be on his way to creating an unstoppable January juggernaut that could end up pushing nearly every candidate except Ron Paul out of this race by the end of January.