There may be warning signs in conservative-heavy states for Mitt Romney’s potential GOP presidential nomination bid, but back home in New England, he looks poised to dominate the competition. According to a WMUR/Granite State poll, the former Massachusetts governor steamrolls the GOP field, leading his closest challenger by a daunting 30-point margin.
In the poll, 40% of respondents said Romney was their first choice to represent the GOP in 2012. Rudy Giuliani came in second at 10%, followed by Tim Pawlenty and Mike Huckabee with 7% each. Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin tied for fifth place with 6% each, while Ron Paul (5%) Donald Trump (3%) Haley Barbour (1%) and Rick Santorum (1%) brought up the rear.
The results aren’t entirely surprising, given that Romney has walloped the other GOP contenders in previous polls of the New Hampshire primary. A Magellan poll in January pegged Romney’s support at 39%, while a PPP survey last year showed him reaching the 40% plateau. Yet it does cement what was becoming quite clear, that Romney looks poised to easily win the early — and highly important — primary in the Granite State.
The poll was conducted Jan. 28 through Feb. 7 among 357 likely Republican voters. It has a margin of error of 5.2%.
