Romney retains strong lead in New Hampshire as Santorum gains in polls

After a strong performance in the Iowa caucus former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum received a boost in the latest polls in the 2012 race for the Republican nomination. However, the surveys still show former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as the clear frontrunner and firmly cemented as the favourite to win. The fierce battle for the prize of the right to face off against President Barack Obama for the White House has now switched from Iowa to New Hampshire, whose voters go to the polls on 10 January. With the exception of Texas governor Rick Perry, who has moved ahead to the next state of South Carolina, all campaigns are set to wage an intense fight in the rural New England state. The latest batch of numbers from New Hampshire show Santorum growing in support. A Zogby poll showed Santorum now on 11% in the wake of his Iowa win, up from just 3% the week before. Romney meanwhile was down three points to a still commanding 38% with Texas libertarian Ron Paul in second on 24%. A Suffolk poll showed Santorum jumping from fifth place to third to sit on 8% in New Hampshire while Romney was on 41%, down two points. However, in national polls the news was more convincing for those conservatives who have flocked to the right-wing Santorum in the hope of forming a viable and unified "anti-Romney" candidate. A Rasmussen national poll put Santorum in second place among Republican voters across the country with 21% of the vote, just eight points behind Romney who was on 29%. Those numbers show that even a powerful Romney win in New Hampshire, which seems all but certain, will not prevent the race going on to the less Romney-friendly territory of South Carolina and beyond that to Florida. But for the moment all eyes are on New Hampshire where Santorum criss-crossed the centre of the state carrying out numerous campaign stops attended by a throng of camera crews and reporters. Unlike in Iowa, where his socially conservative views eventually won him strong support, Santorum tried to focus more strongly on economic matters. New Hampshire Republicans tend to be far more concerned with fiscal conservatism rather than hot button issues like abortion or gay marriage. In a packed public meeting in the small town of Northfield, New Hampshire, Santorum spoke at length about the deficit and the need to cut government spending. Aware of his underdog status in the race, he urged voters not to listen to the polls showing an easy Romney win. "Don't pay attention to the polls," he said. When asked how his time in New Hampshire was going he responded: "So far, so good." Romney too put in a full day's campaigning, but, perhaps in a sign of confidence, not all of it was in New Hampshire. After a town hall meeting in the south of the state in the morning, Romney headed to South Carolina for a rally in the port city of Charleston. But leaving New Hampshire did not stop many of his rivals hurling a barrage of negative campaigning in his direction. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was damaged by a barrage of attack ads in Iowa from Romney allies, lambasted the frontrunner. In a TV ad of his own, Gingrich called Romney's economic ideas "timid" and warned he won't beat Obama. Gringich's campaign is now emerging as one of the main focuses of anti-Romney rhetoric in the race. In the wake of the Iowa results Gingrich took out full page ads in a local New Hampshire newspaper that called Romney a "timid Massachusetts moderate". Other campaigns have also joined in the Romney-bashing, perhaps sensing that now is the time to try and dent his march to the nomination. Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who ignored Iowa to bet his entire campaign on a strong showing in New Hampshire, has poured scorn on a string of recent endorsements for Romney, including that of former Republican nominee Senator John McCain. He was joined by a pro-Gingrich "Super Pac", a fundraising group that can support a candidate but has no official links with them. The Winning Our Future group revived an ad that McCain's team ran against Romney in 2008 when the two men were battling for the party's nomination. "Mitt Romney's flip-flops truly are masterpieces," said the ad in a clear attempt to weaken the impact of McCain's endorsement.