"I have to imagine the Romney folks are not overly happy they spent so much time and so much effort in Iowa and their lead has slipped away," said Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.

'Iowa first' strategy

Romney's "Iowa first" strategy made sense early in the campaign, Hagle said, especially since Giuliani and McCain have long since turned their attention to other states. With Huckabee's sudden strength, though, it's a strategy that may no longer pay off for Romney.

"I don't think that it is a must-win for Romney. But he had better finish second. I don't think that's going to be a problem," Hagle said, because Romney has a strong organization in Iowa capable of turning out caucus voters next Thursday.

Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire, agreed that second place in Iowa may be good enough for Romney. "I'm no longer convinced Romney absolutely has to win Iowa," Scala said.

With what he described as Huckabee's "meteoric rise" in the polls thanks to evangelical voters, Scala said Romney can still win New Hampshire even with a loss in Iowa — as long as it's a close race.

"If he stages a comeback and finishes a close second, his New Hampshire numbers will hold up," Scala said. "If he gets trounced in Iowa, if he loses in double-digits to Huckabee, all his work in New Hampshire will get a severe test."

Huckabee's surge in the polls was credited for Romney's decision to deliver a speech on "Faith in America" in Texas earlier this month that was intended to answer concerns raised about a Mormon running the country.

Romney didn't say much about his own beliefs and used the word "Mormon" only once but did pledge not to allow the authorities of any church to exert influence over his presidency. He also attempted to appeal to conservatives by stressing the need to keep religion in public life.

Whether his speech translates into votes, however, remains to be seen.

Utah's favorite son

In Utah, where the majority of residents belong to the LDS Church, polls have shown that Romney would likely sweep the state's GOP presidential primary on Feb. 5 and also win big next November if he becomes his party's nominee.

Romney has been claimed by the Republican-dominated state as a "favorite son" candidate thanks to his successful turnaround of the scandal-tainted 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

But when Romney launched his campaign at the beginning of the year, he was a virtual unknown to most voters outside Utah and Massachusetts, where he served a term as governor after the Olympics.