More Polls Cement Romney's Lead in New Hampshire Echoing Friday morning's Suffolk University tracking poll, two new statewide polls in New Hampshire show Mitt Romney firmly in place as the front-runner, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul gaining support in the wake of their strong finishes in the Iowa caucuses. In a NBC News/Marist Poll of those likely to vote in the Republican primary on Tuesday, 42 percent said they would vote for or leaned toward Mr. Romney. Twenty-two percent back Mr. Paul, up from 16 percent in early December. Mr. Santorum, who now has 13 percent, received only 2 percent in the poll conducted a month ago. Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor, were each the choice of 9 percent. But in December, Mr. Gingrich had been in second place, backed by 24 percent. With only a few days left before the contest, 60 percent of those surveyed said they strongly support their choice. About 3 in 10 said they were somewhat committed and 1 in 10 said they might change their mind before Tuesday. A poll conducted for WMUR-TV by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center got similar results. Mr. Romney is backed by 44 percent of the likely Republican primary voters surveyed, and Mr. Paul stands in second place with 20 percent. Mr. Santorum received 8 percent in this poll, up from 3 percent in December. Mr. Gingrich is also the choice of 8 percent, but his standing has dropped from 17 percent in last month's poll. There's essentially a three-way tie for third place, with Mr. Huntsman at 7 percent. But the Iowa caucus results do seem to have had some effect in New Hampshire. In this poll, interviews were conducted before and after Tuesday's contest, in which Mr. Santorum nearly tied Mr. Romney. Mr. Santorum's share of likely primary voters moved up to 11 percent from 4 percent, reinforcing his growing profile among those keeping an eye on this year's contests. Earlier Friday, he also posted gains in a poll of South Carolina voters, although Mr. Romney stayed in the lead. The NBC/Marist poll was conducted by telephone Wednesday and Thursday with 711 likely voters throughout the state and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points. For the WMUR poll, telephone interviews were conducted Monday through Thursday with 631 likely primary voters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.