Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire, Ron Paul Finishes In Second

As expected GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney easily won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. With 40% of polls reporting Romney was leading Ron Paul with 37% of the vote. Paul was in second place with 24% while Jon Huntsman registered 17% of the vote.

Falling out of favor with New Hampshire voters were Newt Gingrich (10.1%) and Rick Santorum (9.9%) while Rick Perry commanded just 1% of reported votes.

CNN was projecting at that time that Paul would stay in second place followed by Huntsman in third.

Speaking about his third place finish Huntsman asserted his decision to stay in the race, noting that there were “at least three tickets out of New Hampshire.”

In a victory speech Mitt Romney told his supporters they had “made history” and that he was ready to take on the “failed leadership” of President Obama better then any of his opponents.

In exit polling New Hampshire voters said the economy was their number one concern while one-third of voters said Romney’s ability to beat President Obama was at the top of their decision list, a statistic that matched exit polling in Iowa.

Following his win Romney’s opponents quickly shifted their attention to the Jan. 21 primary in South Carolina. Gingrich was the first to focus on the next contest.

Romney’s rivals were trying to shift attention to South Carolina’s vote on Jan. 21 even before the polls closed. “We’re all going to be dividing the vote, and I think it will shake itself out when we get to South Carolina,” said Gingrich.

Here’s Mitt Romney’s New Hampshire victory speech:

Do you think Mitt Romney will use the momentum he’s gained in New Hampshire to win the GOP primary. Do you think Romney can beat President Obama?