Romney wins straw poll in NH as Tea Party candidate takes GOP chairmanship

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Former Governor Mitt Romney this afternoon handily won a New Hampshire straw poll of the party faithful, demonstrating his strength in the crucial first-in-the-nation primary state.

The poll, conducted at the Republican State Committee meeting in Derry, had Romney at 35 percent. Trailing him were Representative Ron Paul (11 percent), former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (8 percent), former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (7 percent), and Representative Michele Bachmann (5 percent).

But in a further indication that the Granite State is taking a turn toward the right, Tea Party-backed Jack Kimball was elected in a separate vote as the new GOP chairman. He defeated the establishment-backed candidate, Juliana Bergeron, by a 222-199 vote in a show of strength for the Tea Party that is bound to influence the state's presidential primary field.

Although the party chairman has traditionally stayed neutral, Kimball made comments recently to NHJournal.com that he would attempt to "put forth a strong conservative presidential candidate." The comments upset some of the party's traditional power brokers who were supporting Bergeron.

They also seemed to spell trouble for Romney, who has not been popular among Tea Party activists and has not been courting them in some of the early primary states.

But the fact that Romney won the straw poll in a Tea Party atmosphere that also helped Kimball win the chairmanship may bode well for Romney's expected candidacy. Romney has so far been presenting himself as the establishment candidate, a responsible mainstream leader with the necessary financial resources and credentials to beat President Obama.

Romney, who has a home in Wolfeboro, N.H., has spent time in the state campaigning for candidates, making donations, and helping the state elect a slate of Republicans in the midterm elections. The work seems to have paid off: He has also lead in recent opinion polls in the state.

Nonetheless, the straw poll was done of just several hundred state committee members more than a year before voters head to the polls, when a lot can change. The straw poll was organized by ABC News and WMUR-TV. The ballot included nearly 20 candidates who have been mentioned as possible presidential contenders.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com