According to a new poll, Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are in the lead in New Hampshire:
Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney hold the leads in their respective New Hampshire primary races, a new Monitor poll shows. But it’s not all good news for the top two: The poll finds each would face thornier challenges in the state’s general election than others would.
In the Republican primary, 27 percent back Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, while 20 percent pick former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and 16 percent choose Arizona Sen. John McCain. Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson, who hasn’t announced yet, debuts at 15 percent, his numbers appearing to take directly from McCain, a close friend.
In the Democratic primary, 33 percent choose Clinton, the New York senator, while 25 percent pick Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 15 percent go with former vice presidential nominee John Edwards. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson snags 7 percent in the poll.
Even if they win their primaries, Clinton and Romney each face steep roads, favorability numbers and head-to-head match-ups show.
Pollster Del Ali - whose Research 2000 firm conducted the poll for the Monitor last week - said Romney “just doesn’t seem viable” in the general election. Meanwhile, he proclaimed Clinton’s primary strength to be the only “silver lining” for Republicans; looking at the numbers, he said, Republicans may be uniquely competitive against her.
Assuming he’s still a factor in the race, New Hampshire is a must-win state for Romney simply because, as the former Governor of Massachusetts, he’s expected to win there. If he doesn’t or, if as often happens, he does worse than expected, his campaign could be over before it starts.
