Early election reports tended to understate, slightly, Mitt Romney’s victory in New Hampshire. The reason: Romney’s strongest support is in the vote-rich towns down along and near the border of New Hampshire, as was the case in the 2008 primary. Then, for example, his biggest percentages, 45%, were in the border towns of Salem (home of Romney backer former Governor John Sununu) and Windham. They’re apparently reporting late, as there are a lot more votes to count in these one-precinct towns than in most other cities, towns, plantations and gores (they actually have some) in New Hampshire. So Romney’s percentage in the Associated Press returns, with as I write 86% of the votes in, has crept up from 36% earlier in the evening to 39%. Extrapolating from earlier returns, it seemed unlikely that Romney could equal the 75,675 votes he won in New Hampshire in 2008, much less John McCain’s winning 88,713 votes. But with 89% of precincts in, Romney is up to 86,356 and seems certain to overtake the McCain total.
