2012 U.S. Election
Republican 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during the Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa. REUTERS

Mitt Romney remains in the lead in New Hampshire, but new GOP presidential race entry Rick Perry emerged in second place in the state, according to a survey conducted for online news site NH Journal by Magellan Strategies.

New Hampshire is an important state since it is the site of the first primary election.

The survey shows Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, remains in a commanding lead position -- but Perry made a strong second-place showing, just days after he officially announced his candidacy last weekend.

The Texas governor debuted in the poll with a strong 18 percent of the vote. Romney, however, led all candidates in the NH Journal survey with 36 percent of the vote. Republican candidate Ron Paul came in third place at 14 percent, while GOP hopeful Michele Bachmann received 10 percent of the vote.

All other candidates were in single digits, according to the NH Journal.

Among all voters surveyed, Romney led with a 66 percent favorable rating, and a 24 percent unfavorable rating. Perry had a favorable rating of 54 percent, and an unfavorable rating of 27 percent.

Bachmann had a 49 percent favorable rating, and a 39 percent unfavorable rating.

Other notable figures prominent in the survey included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had a favorable rating of 29 percent, and an unfavorable rating of 60 percent.