N.H. results showing Romney in command, Huntsman falling short

Mitt Romney appears on target in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary to better his disappointing second-place finish behind John McCain in 2008.

With about a fifth of the vote counted, Romney sat at 35% with a lead of 11 points over Ron Paul. Jon Huntsman was in third place at 18%. The gap was such that the major networks called the race at the moment the polls closed at 8 p.m. ET.

Romney received 32% of the vote in 2008, six points behind McCain.

What to watch tonight:

+ Whether Huntsman can somehow pull ahead of Paul (it doesn’t look good at the moment) and claim his campaign has some momentum. At the same time, he’ll also have to worry about slipping closer to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who were sitting at around 10%. If the final results look similar to the current ones, Huntsman will likely have to reassess whether it makes sense to go forward.
+ Whether Romney can keep a double-digit lead over Paul. If he can’t, it’ll get some tongues wagging about underperforming, but the truth is, Paul occupies his own special place in the electorate and Romney’s camp will feel good about dusting the rest of the field, from Huntsman on down. Paul was expected to do well in New Hampshire because independents can vote in the primary.

+ Whether Santorum is now questioning his decision to campaign in New Hampshire and not go straight to South Carolina after his second-place finish in Iowa.

+ Whether Rick Perry can pull above 1%. In a no-drama primary, that’s about as good as it’s gonna get.