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Poll: Romney holds large, but soft, lead in New Hampshire

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney is the undisputed frontrunner in New Hampshire, a new poll there shows. But it's very soft support — just four percent say they've firmly made up their minds as to who they'll vote for in the 2012 primary.

Romney leads with 33 percent support, according to a WMUR/CNN poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. As Slate's Dave Weigel notes, that's right around his 2008 total in New Hampshire, where he took 32 percent of the vote.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul was a distant second at 9 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took 7 percent and both former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani were at 6 percent. The rest of the field that registered some support: Michele Bachmann at 4 percent, Jon Huntsman at 4 percent, Herman Cain at 4 percent and Rick Santorum at 2 percent.

The biggest number for Romney in this poll: 24, the percentage point lead he holds. The biggest number for the field: 87, the percentage of respondents who said they don't know yet who they'll eventually support.

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