CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) — Mitt Romney easily won the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, leaving his opponents in disarray and taking a big step toward becoming his party's choice to run against President Barack Obama in November.
Romney garnered 39 percent of the vote, a 16-percentage point advantage over his closest challenger, Texas congressman Ron Paul.
The decisive victory in Tuesday’s primary followed Romney’s narrow win in last week’s Iowa caucuses, giving him powerful momentum ahead of the crucial South Carolina primary on Jan. 21. A win there and in Florida 10 days later could make Romney all but unstoppable.
Because of his appeal to independent voters, Romney could be the toughest potential rival for Obama, whose popularity has fallen because of the slow U.S. recovery from the Great Recession. Exit polls showed the economy was the biggest issue in New Hampshire, as it has been nationwide.
Romney was the heavy favorite going into New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. He is the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, has a vacation home on a New Hampshire lake and his business background was appealing in a state where Republicans tend to be more conservative on the economy than on social issues like abortion and gay marriage.
Not only did Romney meet the high expectations, he emerged with no clear rival to challenge him as front-runner.
Paul finished second with 23 percent, with 95 percent of precincts reporting. It was his second strong showing after finishing third in Iowa, the first nominating contest. But Paul remains a longshot for the nomination. While he has a loyal core of supporters drawn to his libertarian, small-government message, his calls for military cuts, withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and legalizing drugs puts him at odds with the Republican mainstream.
The third-place finisher, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, also appears unlikely to win the nomination. He won 17 percent after campaigning intensely in New Hampshire. But he is at the bottom of national polls. He is not as conservative as his rivals and his role as Obama’s first ambassador to China does not endear him to Republicans with harsh views of the president.
Meanwhile, the three candidates most likely to draw conservative voters — Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry — have been struggling.
Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator who came within eight votes of winning Iowa, each won 9 percent Tuesday. Perry, who considered dropping out of the race after a poor fifth-place showing in Iowa, effectively skipped New Hampshire to focus on South Carolina.
All the candidates planned to campaign Wednesday in South Carolina where Romney could have a tougher time than he had in New Hampshire. Some Republicans doubt whether he is sufficiently conservative given his shifting views on abortion and other social issues. Some are also wary of his Mormon faith.
And TV ads already are filling the South Carolina airwaves, including negative spots like the new one from Gingrich assailing Romney for switching his position on an issue that resonates strongly with evangelicals who make up the base of the Republican Party here.
"He governed pro-abortion," the Gingrich ad says. "Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney: He can’t be trusted."
But with conservatives failing to rally behind a single candidate, their votes could be divided among Gingrich, Santorum and Romney, creating an opening for Romney. A poll last week showed him with a double-digit lead in South Carolina and his New Hampshire win should provide a further boost.
Several of Romney’s rivals have made it clear that they will seek to undercut the chief rationale of his candidacy: that his experience in private business makes him the strongest Republican to take on President Barack Obama on the economy in the fall.
In recent weeks, rivals have stepped up criticism of Romney, seizing on his record at the venture capital firm Bain Capital.
Perry, for one, is accusing Romney of "vulture capitalism" that led to job losses in economically distressed South Carolina and other states. A group supporting Gingrich, who saw his once-soaring candidacy crash under a barrage of negative ads by Romney supporters in Iowa, has pledged to spend $3.4 million for anti-Romney ads.
In his victory speech, Romney said the attacks on his business record from Republican rivals were similar to Democratic criticisms.
"President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial. In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him," Romney said in his victory speech, chastising his critics while acting as though he is already the nominee. "This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation."
But, appearing to position him as the party’s inevitable nominee, most of his fire was directed at Obama.
"The president has run out of ideas," he said. "And now he’s running out of excuses."
The White House has already begun targeting Romney. Vice President Joe Biden, in a video conference with party activists on Tuesday evening, cast Romney as someone who would side with the wealthy, while he and Obama "have one overarching commitment — to give the middle class a fighting chance."
Obama, running unopposed, won the Democratic primary.
Romney’s victory in New Hampshire made him the first Republican to sweep the first two contests in competitive races since 1976.
The Republican nominee will ultimately be determined by a state-by-state tally of delegates at the Republican National Convention in August. Only 12 delegates were at stake on Tuesday in New Hampshire, out of 1,144 needed to win the nomination.
Romney’s win was worth seven delegates to the Republican National Convention next summer. Paul earned three delegates and Huntsman two.
