Ron Paul surging despite media stonewalling

Following Tuesday’s revelation that Ron Paul is tied for first place In Iowa, it has also emerged that the US Congressman is now polling in second place in New Hampshire, another of the key early voting states.

A separate poll also reveals that Paul is the only Republican candidate leading President Obama among independents.

A Bloomberg News New Hampshire poll released Wednesday shows Paul in second place with 17 percent, beating former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and pizza pusher Herman Cain, who scored 11 percent and 7 percent respectively.

Mitt Romney still holds a strong lead with 40 percent of the votes.

Given that Romney is so strong in New Hampshire, and has made it the focal point of his campaign, a second place finish for Paul in the primary, scheduled for January 10, would be an extremely strong showing.

Despite being given just 89 seconds of speaking time during Saturday’s Republican debate, Ron Paul is in a dead heat with fellow top tier candidates Cain, Romney and Gingrich for the highly influential Iowa caucuses. Paul placed second, just one percentage point behind Cain, according to another Bloomberg News poll.

The poll shows Cain at 20 percent, Paul at 19 percent, Romney at 18 percent and Gingrich at 17 percent.

Paul is undoubtedly in the strongest position going into the race, because his support is “more solidified than his rivals,” a key factor given that 60 per cent of respondents in the poll said they could still be persuaded to change their vote.