Romney leads in New Hampshire; Bachmann second

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney works the crowd as he marches in the Fourth of July parade in Amherst, N.H., Monday, July 4, 2011.

/ Jim Cole

Mitt Romney continues to hold a strong lead over Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire, according to the latest WMUR Granite State Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. But newcomer Rep. Michele Bachmann has shot into second place just weeks after announcing her candidacy.

In the poll, 35 percent of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire said they would vote for Romney. Bachmann came in a distant second, with 12 percent.

Tied for third place were Rep. Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani at 7 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who like Giuliani has not declared a presidential run, got 4 percent.

As in last week's Iowa poll, the New Hampshire results suggest Tim Pawlenty's campaign still isn't getting traction. He is tied with Sarah Palin at 3 percent.

Despite spending a lot of time in the state in recent weeks - and declaring New Hampshire a must-win state - Jon Huntsman got only two percent, tying him with Herman Cain. Newt Gingrich got 1 percent, while Rick Santorum was below 1 percent.

The poll also asked which Republican candidate voters would not support under any circumstances. Palin led with 23 percent, followed by Gingrich at 16 percent and Ron Paul with 12 percent.

[argbas02]

Michele's quick rise in NH is disturbing. NH tends to elect level headed, rational candidates. I hope they keep that track record strong by choosing Governor Romney, or at least a candidate who knows that the Revolution didn't start in NH.

[Adidan64]

Mitt Romney's Top Donor List from 2008 Campaign - wonder where a Romney presidency's interests would lie as all of these company PAC's look for the return on their "investment"?

Goldman Sachs $234,275
Citigroup Inc $178,200
Merrill Lynch $173,025
Morgan Stanley $170,350
Lehman Brothers $144,100
UBS AG $123,850
Bain Capital $123,150
Bain & Co $121,475
Marriott International $121,150
Kirkland & Ellis $109,400
Compuware Corp $103,550
Credit Suisse Group $102,600
Huron Consulting $102,050
The Villages $102,000
PricewaterhouseCoopers $92,250
JPMorgan Chase & Co $84,300
Affiliated Managers Group $82,112
Cerberus Capital Management $79,450
American Financial Group $78,350
Wachovia Corp $77,200

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?id=N00000286&cycle=2008

Google Ron Paul and find out how we can Restore America Now

[argbas02]

I for one am glad to see a candidate that enjoys the broadest popular support (Romney leads in all national polls), is also a capable fundraiser--he'll need that to beat Obama.

It's not an intrinsically bad thing to have the business community's support. They--like ALL of us--have an interest in a candidate that will facilitate investment and create jobs. If one's supporters are all ignorant, pot-smoking rabble, that may be a bad sign. That's at least one reason to not vote for Ron Paul, other than the fact that he's not electable under any circumstance.

[prohb]

It is a sad reflection and a travesty that many people and the media in this country consider a right-wing demagogue like Bachman a serious candidate and give her a platform. Scary.

[pasha128]

Between the Bachmann and Palin camps it looks like the Republicans may need to find a way to bury large number of "Hillary" like hatchets. It will be interesting to see how badly the Tea Party and numerous classical Republican (religious right, anti-tax and isolationist, etc wings) camps split when it becomes clear which one will be selecting the Republican Nominee. If 23 , 16 or 12 percent of the party alone are disgruntled enough not to vote or not to vote Republican this could be a Democratic year big time.