Two polls released on Tuesday morning, the same day as the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary,find that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is in solid shape to win the Granite State, but it is a close battle to determine who will come in second.
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 margin, 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 race for second.
The battle for second place will be determined by which candidate has the best field organization to bring out the votes, 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.
A poll from Rasmussen Reports, also released on Tuesday morning, finds Romney headed for a solid win in the Granite State.
Romney takes 37 percent of likely Republican primary voters while Paul is in a close battle with Huntsman for second. Paul takes 17 percent in the poll while Huntsman is right behind with 15 percent. Santorum takes fourth with 13 percent with Gingrich on his heels at 12 percent. Gov. Perry, who has ignored the Granite State in recent days to focus on South Carolina, takes 1 percent of the vote.
The poll of 722 likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters was taken on Jan. 8 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
