James Forsyth James Forsyth

Who will get knocked out by the Romney one-two punch?

The Democratic presidential contest is getting the lion’s share of the media coverage because the two main competitors in it are political superstars whose candidacies would be historic and because whoever is the Democratic nominee will start out as the favourite in 2008. But the Republic race is, perhaps, even more fascinating with the very future of the conservative coalition at stake. It is certainly more fluid with four Republicans—Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney—still having plausible paths to the nomination.  

Romney (pictured) is the only Republican with a realistic chance of winning both Iowa and New Hampshire, the two crucial early contests. He is second in the polls in Iowa and has a narrow lead in New Hampshire. If he pulls off back to back wins, he’ll probably be the nominee. If he doesn’t win either state, his bid is almost certainly over. 

The campaigns in both states have now reached a crucial phase with Romney going

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