(Image source: The New York Times)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

He’s held a pretty strong lead in New Hampshire for months -- but now analysts say Mitt Romney’s momentum is slowing.

This -- as the state’s voters head to the polls in the first primary of the GOP nominating contest.

A KSAZ anchor asks -- after holding front-runner status in New Hampshire for so long, is it possible Romney could lose there?

“He certainly has seen his leads shrink a bit but had an enormous lead. It was 40 something and now 30 something. Considered the front runner. The race from the other contenders does seem to be for number two and three spots.”

And the candidates widely considered most viable for the two and three spots? Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul. Paul currently sits second in the polling, but The State Column says the momentum is on the former Utah governor’s side.

“Mr. Huntsman is quickly becoming Mr. Paul’s biggest roadblock to a second place finish in the New Hampshire Primary. ... a second place finish would help Mr. Paul or Mr. Huntsman raise money and votes for the South Carolina Primary and beyond.”

In fact the most recent polling from 7News and Suffolk University have Ron Paul at 18 percent; Jon Huntsman at 16 percent -- and the two are battling it out for the state’s independent voters.

But the difference between them -- say The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake -- is Paul doesn’t need New Hampshire as much as Huntsman.

“The knocks against Huntsman...? His time spent in the Obama Administration, his support for civil unions for gays and lesbians and his moderate tone on the campaign trail...”

But then again -- even this late in the cycle -- CBS News’ Bob Schieffer suggests voters are largely holding their noses about ALL the candidates.

“Nearly 60% of Republicans say they'd still like to see somebody else. That's one reason that you see Mitt Romney. The fact is, it's kind of a flat race so far. There's not all that much enthusiasm.”

The next nominating contest is South Carolina -- whose voters tend to run more socially conservative than New Hampshire. So while Tuesday night’s results are sure to give the winner a media boost it might not be entirely predictive of what’ll happen in South Carolina.