Surging McCain Hopes History Repeats in NH

McCain holds slim lead over Romney, Huckabee jumps to 3rd

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama stung Hillary Clinton with a shocking double-digit lead in New Hampshire today, according to two polls. One put him ahead by 13 points. Obama leads Clinton 41% to 28% in a USA Today survey, and 39% to 29% according to CNN, both a far cry from yesterday's tie. Obama’s Iowa win convinced primary voters he “can really go all the way,” said CNN’s polling director, adding Obama boasted a 42% to 31% lead in electability. More»

But four of ten say they may change their minds

(NEWSER) - Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are dead even in New Hampshire, according to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll. The two are tied at 32%, with John Edwards a distant third at 18% and no other Democratic candidates in double digits. Like Clinton, Republican Mitt Romney has seen his lead in the state shrink as well, although he's still ahead of John McCain. More»

The big question: How much will Romney win by?

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney is going to win the New Hampshire primary, and everyone ostensibly knows it. But that doesn't mean the results won't be interesting. Here are the contests the pundits are watching:

• Romney vs. expectations: With Romney's victory assured, pundits are speculating over his vote tally. One strategist tells Politico he has to hit at least 38%—John McCain's 2008 total. Romney himself managed 32% in that contest, but anything nearly that low would raise serious questions now.

And according to this tiny village, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are tied

(NEWSER) - The village of Dixville Notch is notable not just for the fact that it only has nine registered voters, but for the fact that those voters also are the first in New Hampshire to state their choice in today's primary. Their nine ballots were cast one minute after midnight—unincorporated towns that claim less than 100 residents can open the polls at 12am—and, according to this wee hamlet, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are the very, very early frontrunners, with two votes each. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul both walked away with one; Barack Obama scooped up the remaining three, reports the AP . More»

Dem's strengths expose key gaps in armor of Republican's rumored short-listers

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden presents a problem for John McCain, Jeanne Cummings notes on Politico. “McCain knows Biden well," says one Republican insider. "He knows how good he is as a knife fighter." Stacked up against Biden, all of the rumored GOP short-listers reveal potentially fatal flaws:

• Mitt Romney: Considering Biden's middle-class roots, the multimillionaire former governor could undermine McCain's claims of Obama elitism.