Romney Leads N.H. Poll; Paul and Huntsman Battle for Second

A poll released on Tuesday morning, the same day as the New Hampshire primary, finds that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is in solid shape to win the Granite State.

Romney leads the Suffolk University/7News tracking poll of likely voters in New Hampshire taking 37 percent while U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas takes second with 18 percent. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah is right behind Paul with 16 percent followed by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania with 11 percent and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 9 percent. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana both garner 1 percent in the poll.

Mitt Romney may beat his closest competitor by a 2-1, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. With two solid debate performances, Romney weathered the storm earlier this week, while no opponent made a serious run at him.

Paleologos added to keep an eye on the battle between Paul and Huntsman for second.

The battle for second place will be determined by which candidate has the best field organization to bring out the votes today, Paleologos said. A good get-out-the-vote-operation accounts for up to 5 points, which can impact an expected outcome.

The poll of 500 likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters was taken on Jan. 8-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.