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Posted: January 2, 2008 6:59 PM
McCain Shows Strength in N.H., Thanks Supporters in Iowa
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Arizona Sen. John McCain’s efforts in New Hampshire are paying off in the polls, where at least one survey shows him beating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, while another places the rivals in a statistical tie for the Jan. 8 contest.

The 7 NEWS/Suffolk University survey released Tuesday shows McCain with 31 percent to Romney’s 25 percent, the first time the Arizona Republican has been in the lead. Meanwhile, today’s WMUR/CNN primary poll shows Romney and McCain tied at 29 percent.

“Many of the Republican candidates have been talking about faith, but it looks like John McCain is headed for a religious experience in the Granite State,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, told the Washington Times. “If these numbers hold up, New Hampshire Republicans may give McCain the nickname of Lazarus, rising from the dead.”

But with six days remaining until the New Hampshire primary votes are cast, McCain returns to Iowa today to thank his campaign volunteers and, according to Bloomberg.com], generate some support among undecided caucus-goers.

“Hopefully it’ll have some political impact, and help round up those undecided voters’,’ McCain was quoted as saying.

McCain isn’t expecting to win in Iowa — a state he skipped entirely in 2000 — leaving Romney to duke it out with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The Des Moines Register in December endorsed McCain, and its latest poll shows him in third place. According to some experts, a third-place finish in the state would be seen as a “victory.”

“If McCain comes in third, then he’ll be the winner of the Iowa caucuses,” Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University, told Bloomberg.com.

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign unveiled a Web ad today that contrasts the senator’s experience on foreign policy with Romney’s. The ad casts Romney as dismissive of the need for foreign policy experience despite continuing threats to American security.