CNN/TIME: Romney, cómodo en NH; atención a Santorum en Iowa

TIME:

Romney now leads the pack with support from 25% of likely Iowa caucus-goers, while Paul boasts 22%, both posting a five-point gain since early December. While Romney’s lead in Iowa is tenuous, his continued strength across the board raises the possibility that the establishment front-runner could win his party’s nomination in a clean sweep.

Bolstering that possibility is the collapse of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who led in Iowa with 33% less than a month ago, but has seen his front-runner status disintegrate under a torrent of negative advertising and now claims just 14% support. Some of his voters have scattered, providing small bumps to Romney and Paul as well as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Governor Rick Perry. But the biggest beneficiary of Gingrich’s collapse appears to be former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who’s rocketed into third place with 16%, a dramatic 11-point climb in three short weeks. Santorum now leads among born-again Christians, and is tied with Paul and Romney among self-described conservatives and Tea Party supporters. The surge by Santorum, who’s quietly made stops in each of Iowa’s 99 counties and won the endorsement of some of the state’s top evangelical leaders, only adds suspense to next week’s caucuses, the outcome of which remains incredibly unpredictable.

The race in New Hampshire, meanwhile, appears to have settled. Gingrich’s boomlet has subsided in the Granite State as well with his support there falling 10 points to 16% in the last month. But rather than splintering, almost all of those voters have swung to Romney, who maintains a commanding lead there with 44% backing, up nine points over the same time period. The rest of the field has remained static. Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who gained some traction in recent months, failed to catch fire, merely edging up one point to 9%. And even as Paul has moved to the front in Iowa, his New Hampshire support remains at 17%, second to Romney and now ahead of Gingrich, but still far off the lead.