Romney Sweeps up New Hampshire in January Primary

On Jan. 10, 2012, New Hampshire held the first Republican primary for the 2012 Presidential elections. Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary with 39% of the votes, followed by Ron Paul at 22%, Jon Huntsman at 16% and Newt Gingrich at 9%.

Being the first state to hold a primary, New Hampshire voters get the first taste of the intense political competition that occurs during the race for the republican nomination. Critical issues in New Hampshire included unemployment, budget deficits, and taxes. 

In addition to the standard voter issues, Romney's practices while affiliated with Bain Capital came under fire. A video released by a Newt Gingrich super PAC accused Romney of "abusive, immoral investment tactics" that "crippled borrowers" and earned Bain Capital huge profits. The alleged scandal was used as a smear campaign against Romney, however the former Massachusetts governor still came out on top. 

The focal point of Romney's campaign, according to Romney, is the middle class. He claims to be much less concerned with both the upper and lower classes, believing that the "safety nets" in place protect the very poor citizens. His approach to making higher education more affordable to members of the middle class is to reduce taxes, allowing responsible families to plan ahead and save for higher education. This plan is much less direct than cutting costs of public colleges and universities altogether, but he believes it is more effective for the American people. The plan does however seem to lessen opportunities for lower income students to pursue higher education. 

Romney's successful start in New Hampshire has been further solidified by wins in Iowa, Nevada and Florida. While Romney is the clear front-runner, the other candidates should not be counted out. 

Senator Ron Paul is very popular among young voters. Though he hasn't won a state yet, he has placed considerably high and is grabbing a good deal of media attention. 

Newt Gingrich won South Carolina by a large margin, making him a clear contender. While he hasn't performed extremely well overall, he expects to see more success in southern states.

Rick Santorum just recently restored his campaign. After suffering a number of losses, Santorum scored three wins in a single night, claiming Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado. These wins revived Santorum's campaign both morally and financially, reassuring skeptical campaign contributors. 

Domestic problems such as unemployment and economic recession are going to play a pivotal role in this year's election. A decreasing unemployment rate is a good sign for Obama's re-election campaign. While Romney is the current front-runner, it's unclear who exactly will earn the republican nomination and how they will fare against Barack Obama.