Editor's Note: The Iowa caucuses are now behind us. The presidential candidates are no longer barging into our coffee shops to shake our hands, or usurping our TV commercial time. 

Still, after months of attention, I confess I miss writing and hearing about the race for the GOP nomination on an hourly basis.

Do you miss the Caucus Circus? Take our poll below.

In case you missed, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walked away with a big win Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary. It was expected, but many feel he now is firmly the man to beat for the nomination. Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished a solid, but distant, second place.

This comes a week after Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished in a virtual tie for first in the Iowa Caucus. Paul finished a few points back in third place.

Here is an article from our Patch friends in New Hampshire about the primary.

By Marc Fortier, Carolyn Dube, Jake O'Donnell, Ryan O'Connor, and Michael Ryan

Mitt Romney has spent the last several months battling his Republican presidential foes. After easily winning the New Hampshire Primary on Tuesday, he sounded like a man ready for several more months of battle against President Barack Obama.

"The last few years have offered a lot of change but not a lot of hope," Romney told supporters gathered at Southern New Hampshire University. "We know it must be better and it will be better."

After winning Iowa by a slim margin, Romney has now made it two for two in 2012 contests.

"The president has run out of ideas," Romney said. "Now he's running out of excuses. We're asking South Carolina to join New Hampshire and make 2012 the year he runs out of time."

Romney's win on Tuesday night was no surprise, but the speed with which the race was called was. Just minutes after the polls closed, the Associated Press had declared him the winner. Ron Paul finished second, followed by Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

"This was a validation race for Governor Romney," said Pat Griffin, a senior fellow at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics. "This is a big win for him tonight, and as long as there are multiple social conservatives both attacking him and challenging him, and nothing coalesces around a single candidate, he's going to go on to win this thing."

Next up is South Carolina, and while Griffin said, "it's not going to be pretty," he feels the Republican Party "wants this over with, they want it done."

Romney also showed he is ready to compete down south, saying, "Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we go back to work."

From the moment he entered the race, Romney was seen as the frontrunner here in New Hampshire, racking up an impressive list of endorsements and supporters after a second place finish here four years ago.

Throughout this primary campaign, Romney's critics ripped him for not being a "true conservative." But he weathered it well, not to mention challenges from a seemingly endless pool of GOP candidates.

First it was Michele Bachmann. Then Rick Perry. Herman Cain was next, before Gingrich got his moment in the spotlight. More recently, Santorum's strong showing in Iowa had him poised to challenge Romney.

But in the end, the combination of Romney's having been here before, having a strong grassroots organization, and the money to advertise was too much for his opponents to overcome.