MANCHESTER, N.H., (Reuters) – Mitt Romney took a crucial step toward the Republican U.S. presidential nomination yesterday as he scored a solid victory in New Hampshire despite blistering attacks from rivals on his record as a businessman.
With 66 percent of precincts reporting, the former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive had 38 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, the second contest in the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama on Nov. 6.
Romney outpaced rivals Ron Paul, a U.S. congressman known for libertarian views, and Jon Huntsman, a moderate former U.S. ambassador to China. Paul was drawing about 24 percent and Huntsman 17 percent.
The victory means Romney has won the first two nominating contests, having narrowly taken the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3. Romney may now find it easier to convince skeptics that he is the party’s best choice to take on Obama.
Romney, whose next test is the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, has tried to keep the focus on Obama, and he immediately took aim at the president in remarks to supporters.
“The president has run out of ideas. Now, he’s running out of excuses,” Romney told a cheering crowd chanting his first name. “And tonight, we are asking the good people of South Carolina to join the citizens of New Hampshire and make 2012 the year he runs out of time.”
Romney has struggled to win over conservatives who are unnerved by his shifting stances on hot-button social issues like abortion and his stint as a centrist governor of neighboring Massachusetts. Some conservative Christian voters are wary of his Mormon faith.
With economic concerns topping the agenda, Romney has argued that his experience as head of investment firm Bain Capital would make him the best candidate to put the shaky U.S. economy on a stronger footing.
In recent days, rivals like former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich have painted him as a heartless corporate raider who enjoyed cutting jobs – an unusual debate in the business-friendly Republican Party.
The attacks appeared to have had little effect in New Hampshire, the small New England state known for its independent streak and outsized role in presidential campaigns. The state’s 5.2 percent unemployment rate is well below the national average of 8.5 percent.
SWIPE AT RIVALS
Romney also took a swipe at rivals in his victory speech.
“President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial, and in the last few days we’ve seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him. This is such a mistake for our party and our nation,” he said.
Romney faced little doubt that he would win New Hampshire, where religious conservatives play a less dominant role than they do in states likes Iowa and South Carolina.
The question in recent days has been by how much. Romney owns a vacation home in New Hampshire and has campaigned extensively in the state since announcing his presidential bid last spring.
