A 7 New/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday of likely New Hampshire primary voters shows that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s surge in Iowa over the last week has not really impacted voters in the Granite State.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney still holds a substantial lead, garnering 43 percent of the votes, followed by Texas congressman Ron Paul with 16 percent of the votes and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman with 10 percent of the votes.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will face an uphill battle in New Hampshire, as he trails Mr. Huntsman with 9 percent of the votes. Mr. Santorum finished the Suffolk poll with just 5 percent.
Unlike the Iowa caucus voters, New Hampshire voters seem firmly behind the front-runner Mr. Romney, as the poll found that just 13 percent of likely New Hampshire primary voters are undecided. In less than a week, New Hampshire voters will go to the polls to cast their ballots.
Mr. Gingrich promised to be more aggressive in attacking Mr. Romney’s record this week in New Hampshire.
However, Mr. Gingrich is facing a tough competitor in Mr. Huntsman who is hoping that his commitment to courting New Hampshire voters over the last few months will lead to a last minute surge like the one that Mr. Santorum saw in Iowa.
“Newt Gingrich is struggling to revive his campaign in New Hampshire,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said in a press release. “But Rick Santorum now trails Gingrich by only 4 points, and if he surpasses Gingrich and knocks him into fifth place, it would be fatal for Gingrich,” Mr. Paleologos added.
Mr. Huntsman has already begun to increase his attacks against the front-runner. During a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire Wednesday, Mr. Huntsman called Mr. Romney the “status quo” candidate, according to The Los Angeles Times.
“You’re going to have a choice this election cycle. The establishment is going to tee up Mitt Romney and they’re going to say there’s your guy. But you know what? This nation can’t afford a status quo president,” Mr. Huntsman said.
According to the poll, an advantage that Mr. Romney holds in New Hampshire is his popularity among women, as 59 percent of registered Republican women offered their support to the Bain Capital co-founder in the poll.
“If Romney wins the Granite State in a landslide, he can thank women throughout New Hampshire for making a powerful statement,” Mr. Paleologos posited.
The Suffolk University poll was conducted between January 1st and January 2nd among 500 likely New Hampshire primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
