MANCHESTER – According to a nationally recognized pollster, former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opened up a double-digit lead in New Hampshire over his two closest rivals.

A New Zogby International telephone poll posted on its Web site shows Romney jumping to 35 percent support from 25 percent a month ago.

His closest competitors, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who won the 2000 New Hampshire presidential primary, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, both stand at 19 percent in the poll conducted May 15 and 16 with a margin or error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.

McCain's support has dropped from 25 percent a month ago, while Giuliani's remains steady.

Romney regional campaign spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said she did not want to speak specifically about the poll, but did say the campaign has had great success building its grass roots organization in New Hampshire.

"The more Governor Romney actively campaigns in New Hampshire and voters have a chance to see him and hear him speak, the more his message of bringing change Washington resonates and the more excitement builds for our campaign," she said.

Romney also has a slight lead in an Iowa poll released Wednesday. Iowa holds the first caucus in the presidential sweepstakes.

Pollster John Zogby said in a statement "For Romney, this is a good couple of weeks. The real news is his significant gains in support in both Iowa . . . and now New Hampshire. He clearly already has the three M's : media, money and momentum. For critics, who will pooh-pooh his lead in neighboring New Hampshire, he has actually widened his lead against two party icons, one of whom, Giuliani, has stayed static since January, and the other, McCain, who has declined."

In January, the Zogby poll had Romney's support at 13 percent, while McCain was at 26 percent and Giuliani was at 20 percent.

On the Democratic side, the telephone survey shows New York Sen. Hillary Clinton holds a small lead over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Obama gives the Southern New Hampshire University commencement address tomorrow. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards trails both. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has seen his support jump to 10 percent in this week's poll.

In the poll, Clinton has the support of 28 percent, while Obama's support is at 26 percent and Edwards has 15 percent. Clinton's support has remained steady over the last few months as has Obama's, although he has closed the gap between the two from 6 percent in April to 2 percent.

Richardson's support had been about 2 or 3 percent until this latest poll, showing a significant jump to double digits.

In his statement, Zogby said "On the Democratic side, it's Hillary and Obama in a dead heat. However, if Edwards holds his lead in Iowa, he'll get a bump into New Hampshire. Of greatest significance is the move of Bill Richardson into double-digits from merely a blip on the screen. He is now a player in all this."