Romney makes gains in New Hampshire

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has surged in the Republican primary field in New Hampshire and is now tied for first place, according to a new Zogby poll released Thursday.

With 25 percent of support, Romney is tied with Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is third among Republican presidential contenders, with 19 percent.

The poll rounds off a successful week for Romney, who last month polled at 13 percent in New Hampshire. His campaign disclosed earlier this week that the former governor won the GOP fundraising battle in the first quarter, hauling in $20.63 million and outdistancing McCain and Giuliani.

“Score this as a big week for Mitt Romney,” said pollster John Zogby. “These poll numbers, together with the small increase in Iowa and a huge fundraising effort, puts him into the top tier and makes him a major player in the race for the GOP nomination.”

The poll was conducted between April 2 and 3 and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

Another poll released Wednesday, this one conducted by CNN and WMUR, has McCain and Giuliani leading with 29 percent and Romney coming in third with 17 percent. The survey had a margin of error of 5.5 percent and also shows that McCain's favorability rating has increased the most of any GOP candidate in the past month.