Romney Trails McCain by 9 points in New Hampshire

Editor: Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby N.H. Daily Tracking Poll: McCain Expands Lead Over Romney

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona widened his advantage over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, taking a 36 percent to 27 percent edge after months of hard campaigning in the state, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Tuesday.

The rolling poll of 859 likely Republican voters was taken Saturday through Monday. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday is the next battleground in the state-by-state process of choosing candidates for November's election to replace President George W. Bush.

The pressure is on Romney to revive his campaign after a disappointing showing in Iowa, and a second consecutive loss could make his comeback difficult.

Romney, who at one time led polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, finished second.

Huckabee Stalls

While McCain gained more ground on Romney in the new poll, Huckabee has not been able to take advantage of his Iowa win. Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, held third at 10 percent.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was tied for fourth in New Hampshire with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, an anti-war libertarian, at 9 percent. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson was at 2 percent.

"The question is whether Romney can pick up any more steam, because he did slightly better on the last day," Zogby said. "McCain still has strong leads among independents and among older voters."

The final day of polling came after Sunday's debate with his rivals, when Romney went on the offensive against Huckabee and McCain on taxes and immigration and was not the target he was in a debate on Saturday.

About 5 percent remain undecided, according to the New Hampshire poll.

The rolling tracking poll concludes with New Hampshire's voting on Tuesday. In a rolling poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped in order to track changing momentum.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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