New polls from New Hampshire show tight races on both sides. Despite what people in NH tell pollsters, they will be swayed by what happens in Iowa. And, NH voters are notoriously fickle -- so this could fluctuate wildly. And, keep in mind, unlike Iowa, where only registered party members can attend caucuses, Independents in New Hampshire can vote in either primary. That's a wild card in NH:
In the poll, Clinton and Obama are tied at 32%-32%, with Edwards at 18%. No other candidate breaks into double digits.
Counting only those who say their vote is certain, Clinton narrowly leads Obama, 20%-18%. Edwards is backed by 10%.
In the Republican race, Romney leads McCain, 34%-27%. Including only those whose votes are set, Romney's lead narrows to 19%-15%, within the survey's margin of error of +/— 5 points.
Effectively tied for third place are former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, at 11%, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, each at 9%.
Just last month, most Granite State surveys showed Clinton and Romney with double-digit leads. Now, Clinton's "firewall" against a possible setback in Iowa has weakened. Of eight statewide polls taken by other news organizations during the past two weeks, Clinton has led in six, Obama in two, according to RealClearPolitics.com.
