Tweet
Romney wins big in New Hampshire
After last week’s narrow victory in Iowa, Republican Mitt Romney stormed through New Hampshire on Tuesday with a massive win and vowed to keep the momentum in the upcoming crucial battle for South Carolina.
Romney romped home with over 39 per cent of the votes, with his nearest rival Ron Paul trailing by a long way with about 23 per cent, followed by John Huntsman with about 17 per cent. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were just under 10 per cent, while Texas Governor Rick Perry polled less than 1 per cent.
With the rare back-to-back wins in the first two contests, pundits have already begun viewing Romney as the presumptive Republican nominee to challenge President Barack Obama in November.
But it is still a long road ahead, with a host of crucial contests to follow. Each of the five fellow contestants let it be known to Romney that they will leave nothing to chance as the battle proceeds to South Carolina and beyond. Gingrich and Perry have begun to invest heavily on attack ads against Romney in South Carolina.
Romney, for his part, exuded confidence, devoting the better part of his New Hampshire victory address to a wholesale attack on Obama’s leadership, with only a passing reference to his party rivals.
“The president has run out of ideas. Now, he’s running out of excuses,” Romney thundered, adding: “We know that the future of this country is better than 8 or 9 per cent unemployment. It is better than $15 trillion in debt. It is better than the misguided policies and broken promises of the last three years — and the failed leadership of one man.”
Accusing Obama of wanting to put free enterprise on trial, Romney took potshots at his at his rivals, commenting: “In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him. This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation… Make no mistake, in this campaign, I will offer the American ideals of economic freedom a clear and unapologetic defence.”
Although the Republican race is still in its early stages, the White House has already begun to take Romney’s quick advance seriously.
Participating in a video conference, Vice President Biden attacked Romney as someone who would side with the wealthy, while Obama was one committed to fight for the middle class.
Listing Obama’s accomplishments, Biden said most of these initiatives such as stabilising the financial system, passing stimulus legislation, creating three million jobs, passing health care reform and rescuing the auto industry were all achieved without any Republican cooperation in Congress.
Romney’s runaway victory in New Hampshire was in line with predictions by several polls in recent days. It, however, promises to be a close contest in South Carolina, a fiercely conservative state.
Gingrich, Santorum and Perry who all claim to be stronger and consistent conservatives than Romney plan to the whole hog to upstage the former Massachusetts Governor. Early poll projections for the January 21 race have put Romney in the lead with a relatively smaller margin — 31.8 per cent against Gingrich’s 24.2 per cent and Santorum’s 19.5 per cent. The standings are expected to change a good deal as the campaign goes into high gear.
Television ads put out by Gingrich’s supporters attack Romney’s conservative values. “He (Romney) governed pro-abortion. Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney: He can’t be trusted,” says one such ad.
Gingrich, who touts himself as a “Reagan conservative”, has put all his eggs in the South Carolina basket. “I believe we can reach out and create a majority that will shock the country and a majority that will continue to put us on the right track. It is doable. It is a daunting challenge, but consider the alternative,” said Gingrich.
Perry, for his part, is targeting Romney’s earlier innings as a venture capitalist, heading Bain Capital. The Texas Governor charged that Romney presided over “vulture capitalism” as Bain picked up struggling companies to make money and throwing workers out of jobs.
Romney’s big-time supporters in South Carolina include the state’s Indian American governor Nikki Randhawa Haley, who has endorsed his candidacy and addressed several election rallies in his support.
After last week’s narrow victory in Iowa, Republican Mitt Romney stormed through New Hampshire on Tuesday with a massive win and vowed to keep the momentum in the upcoming crucial battle for South Carolina.
Romney romped home with over 39 per cent of the votes, with his nearest rival Ron Paul trailing by a long way with about 23 per cent, followed by John Huntsman with about 17 per cent. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were just under 10 per cent, while Texas Governor Rick Perry polled less than 1 per cent.
With the rare back-to-back wins in the first two contests, pundits have already begun viewing Romney as the presumptive Republican nominee to challenge President Barack Obama in November.
But it is still a long road ahead, with a host of crucial contests to follow. Each of the five fellow contestants let it be known to Romney that they will leave nothing to chance as the battle proceeds to South Carolina and beyond. Gingrich and Perry have begun to invest heavily on attack ads against Romney in South Carolina.
Romney, for his part, exuded confidence, devoting the better part of his New Hampshire victory address to a wholesale attack on Obama’s leadership, with only a passing reference to his party rivals.
“The president has run out of ideas. Now, he’s running out of excuses,” Romney thundered, adding: “We know that the future of this country is better than 8 or 9 per cent unemployment. It is better than $15 trillion in debt. It is better than the misguided policies and broken promises of the last three years — and the failed leadership of one man.”
Accusing Obama of wanting to put free enterprise on trial, Romney took potshots at his at his rivals, commenting: “In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him. This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation… Make no mistake, in this campaign, I will offer the American ideals of economic freedom a clear and unapologetic defence.”
Although the Republican race is still in its early stages, the White House has already begun to take Romney’s quick advance seriously.
Participating in a video conference, Vice President Biden attacked Romney as someone who would side with the wealthy, while Obama was one committed to fight for the middle class.
Listing Obama’s accomplishments, Biden said most of these initiatives such as stabilising the financial system, passing stimulus legislation, creating three million jobs, passing health care reform and rescuing the auto industry were all achieved without any Republican cooperation in Congress.
Romney’s runaway victory in New Hampshire was in line with predictions by several polls in recent days. It, however, promises to be a close contest in South Carolina, a fiercely conservative state.
Gingrich, Santorum and Perry who all claim to be stronger and consistent conservatives than Romney plan to the whole hog to upstage the former Massachusetts Governor. Early poll projections for the January 21 race have put Romney in the lead with a relatively smaller margin — 31.8 per cent against Gingrich’s 24.2 per cent and Santorum’s 19.5 per cent. The standings are expected to change a good deal as the campaign goes into high gear.
Television ads put out by Gingrich’s supporters attack Romney’s conservative values. “He (Romney) governed pro-abortion. Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney: He can’t be trusted,” says one such ad.
Gingrich, who touts himself as a “Reagan conservative”, has put all his eggs in the South Carolina basket. “I believe we can reach out and create a majority that will shock the country and a majority that will continue to put us on the right track. It is doable. It is a daunting challenge, but consider the alternative,” said Gingrich.
Perry, for his part, is targeting Romney’s earlier innings as a venture capitalist, heading Bain Capital. The Texas Governor charged that Romney presided over “vulture capitalism” as Bain picked up struggling companies to make money and throwing workers out of jobs.
Romney’s big-time supporters in South Carolina include the state’s Indian American governor Nikki Randhawa Haley, who has endorsed his candidacy and addressed several election rallies in his support.
