If Mitt Romney decides to jump into the 2012 presidential race, a recent Strategic National poll shows that he’s well positioned to cruise in the critical New Hampshire primary. It’s the latest in a string of surveys to place Romney well ahead of the other GOP contenders in the Granite State.
In the poll, 33.5% of New Hampshire Republicans said Romney was their first choice for the presidential nomination. Mike Huckabee came in a distant second at 13.8%, followed by Sarah Palin (12.8%), Newt Gingrich (8.6%), and Tim Pawlenty (5.2%). Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, and Rick Santorum all polled around 1%.
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The results aren’t too surprising, given that Romney, as the former Governor of Massachusetts, has a semi-home state advantage in the region. He placed second there in 2008 with about 31% of the vote, trailing only eventual nominee John McCain.
Romney is outperforming that result in early polls of the 2012 race, posting leads as large as 27 and 29 points.
New Hampshire holds the second nominating contest in the presidential primary, and a strong showing there can be crucial to a campaign’s overall success.
The Strategic National poll was conducted January 19 among 940 New Hampshire voters. It has a margin of error of 3.2%.
