Mitt Romney heads to the US South Wednesday as the clear Republican frontrunner to take on President Barack Obama after a commanding win in the second nomination contest. The former Massachusetts governor and millionaire venture capitalist immediately looked to South Carolina’s January 21 primary, hoping a victory there and in Florida on January 31 could effectively anoint him the nominee. “I have a good start.
I have an uphill climb in South Carolina ahead of me, but it could not have worked better last night,” Romney told the NBC “Today” show Wednesday, following his victory in the New Hampshire primary. Public opinion polls showed Romney leading his more conservative rivals in both of the next battlegrounds — large states where his well-oiled, well-funded campaign machine could roll up the opposition.
With more than 95 percent of votes counted, Romney was set to win New Hampshire with about 39 percent, the first time since 1976 that a Republican non-incumbent wins this contest and the Iowa caucuses that precede it.
After surviving a furious 11th-hour onslaught from his Republican rivals, who tarred him as a callous corporate raider who put people out of work, Romney defiantly trumpeted his business experience as his number-one asset.