Mitt Romney Leading in New Hampshire With Ron Paul in Second, Jon Huntsman in Third

Submitted by Kevin Derby on September 22, 2011 - 9:45am

While Texas Gov. Rick Perry is leading the field of Republican presidential hopefuls in most national polls, New Hampshire -- home of the first primary -- is solidly behind former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

According to a Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH TV)poll of likely Republican primary voters released late on Wednesday, Romney was routing the field in the Granite State. Romney took 41 percent of those surveyed with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas in second with 14 percent. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah stood in third with 10 percent.

The rest of the field trailed behind in single digits. Perry took fourth place with 8 percent, followed by former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska with 6 percent. Palin has not officially launched a presidential campaign yet and may not enter the race. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota garnered 5 percent and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia followed with 4 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana took 1 percent.

Mitt Romney is saying get out of my back yard and making New Hampshire his strong firewall despite showing some weakness in the other states early primaries, said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk Universitys Political Research Center, in a statement.The anti-Romney candidate at this point could be either Ron Paul, who has polled consistently over the past year, or Jon Huntsman, whose numbers are really growing in the Granite State.

Romneys added strength in the second-choice question reduces the probability that any other candidate will be able to mobilize and capture all of the non-Romney voters as well as the undecided voters, added Paleologos. Romney is not only the overwhelming first choice, but he also has a competitive edge as a fallback option among voters who support other candidates.

The poll of 400 likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters was taken from Sept. 18-20 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.

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