With Mitt Romney poised to stride toward the Republican presidential nomination by capturing New Hampshire on Tuesday, all eyes were on whether he could win big enough to convince his party he is the best candidate to defeat Democrat Barack Obama.
Despite rivals' fierce 11th-hour attacks painting him as a heartless corporate raider who enjoys cutting jobs, the former businessman who became governor of Massachusetts carried a sizeable poll lead into primary day.
Rivals Ron Paul, who appeals to New Hampshire's libertarian strain, and more moderate Jon Huntsman were in a battle for runner-up in the small New England state known for bucking expectations.
A millionaire one-time venture capitalist who says his private sector experience will help galvanize America's economy, Romney's bigger challenge might be at the next primary in South Carolina, where conservatives are traditionally strong.
Romney would be the first Republican who is not an incumbent president to win the both early voting states, after his slim eight-vote victory over former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum a week ago in the Iowa caucuses.
But Romney has failed to excite the Republican base and was looking to go beyond the lukewarm endorsement of voters like Mary Jane Bevin, 53, a Windham nurse.
"Out of them all, he was the lesser evil," she said. "I'm very concerned about the economy and jobs."
Romney would need to finish at least 10 points ahead of the second-place contender and capture a third of the vote or more to be considered a strong victor in New Hampshire, where he was long considered the favourite.
"Mitt Romney's biggest asset is the large number of candidates in this group that are dividing up the remainder of the vote," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.
Santorum, a socially conservative former senator, has trailed in New Hampshire polls despite coming in just behind Romney in Iowa. Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, is also well behind.
Romney visited a polling station in Manchester and said he hoped the state would make a "big statement" for his candidacy. "You see great enthusiasm," he said.
A resounding win in New Hampshire would provide momentum going into South Carolina on January 21 and Florida on January 31. Romney leads in polls of both states and victories there would all but sew up his nomination to face Obama as he seeks re-election on November 6.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed Romney was way ahead of rival Republicans nationally, with 30 percent support and had made up some ground against Obama although he still trailed the Democrat by five points in the White House race.
"JOB KILLER" CONTROVERSY
It was unclear how much damage had been done by attacks from opponents who accused Romney of being a job killer in the 1990s when he worked for Bain Capital, a firm that bought companies and restructured them.
Romney dug himself into trouble on Monday when he said: "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me," in discussing the need for greater competition between health insurance companies.
In a sharp departure for a party known as friendly to business, Republicans seeking to slow Romney seized on the comment to bash his business practices at Bain.
Gingrich, brooding over negative attacks from Romney and his backers that knocked him out of the front-runner position, has launched the toughest assault.
"Mitt Romney was not a capitalist during his reign at Bain. He was a predatory corporate raider," "When Mitt Romney Came to Town," a 27-minute video produced by a pro-Gingrich group, said.
The attacks prompted some conservatives to cry foul. The National Review magazine posted an editorial on Tuesday calling it "foolish and destructive" to attack Romney for his investment successes.
The onslaught took on new life during weekend debates in New Hampshire, too late to have much influence on the vote. And Romney retains a strong core of support in the small state of 1.3 million where he owns a summer home.
"Romney's a businessman, I saw him pull the Olympics out of the toilet. I saw him work as a businessman, he sees what needs to be done and gets it done," said Dennis Hamson, 58, a nurse from Londonderry.
Results should start flowing in shortly after New Hampshire voting stations close at 7 p.m. EST (midnight British time). About 250,000 people are expected to vote in the Republican primary while 75,000 are likely to vote to endorse Obama's re-election.
With some Republicans worried that Romney is too moderate on fiscal issues or topics like abortion and gay marriage, Romney had struggled to win more than about 25 percent support in national surveys on the nomination race.
Romney's rivals were mostly waging a fierce battle to win undecided voters to capture second place in New Hampshire. Santorum, who nearly won Iowa by appealing to social conservatives, has not seen that message resonate in New Hampshire.
"I'm socially liberal. I could never vote for Santorum," said student Cody Love, 21, who voted for Huntsman in the state capital, Concord.
Santorum and Texas Governor Rick Perry, along with Gingrich, are looking ahead to South Carolina, hoping to slow the man they call a "Massachusetts moderate" in the more conservative state.
