New Hampshire: where third can be a winner

THE Republican presidential candidates who are not Mitt Romney brought along modest hopes on their smiling, hand-shaking visits to New Hampshire’s polling places yesterday — just let me come in third place or so, most said, and survive to challenge the front-runner again in South Carolina and Florida.

Romney held on to the demeanour of the overwhelming favourite, despite coming under increasing volleys of criticism from his rivals and suffering an ill-timed, foot-in-mouth moment on the eve of the nation’s first presidential primary.

A narrower-than-expected win for the former Massachusetts governor — or a surprisingly strong finish from one of his opponents — could shake things up. Either would be seen as more evidence that Republican voters still are not sold on Romney, who barely squeezed out his first win in the Iowa caucuses.