Fresh off his strong finish in Iowa, Santorum, a staunch Christian conservative, was greeted by a large crowd at a town hall here in New Hampshire, reflecting his newfound attention from voters and the news media. He said campaign contributions were pouring in, and his campaign headquarters said phones were ringing off the hook with supporters eager to volunteer for the former Pennsylvania senator. But Santorum faces a tough battle in New Hampshire, where support for Romney runs high and where he will have to convince more moderate voters that he can defeat President Barack Obama in the November presidential election. Santorum has hit the ground running in the Granite State, arguing that the state-by-state battle for the nomination has just begun. "A lot of folks are trying to tell you there is this guy who is going to win," Santorum said, referring to Romney, who holds a commanding lead in opinion polls here and has consistently been a top contender nationally. "Do not pay attention to what the polls say and what the pundits say... Don't trust them, trust yourself," Santorum said. Santorum will likely get some help from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who blamed attack ads by Romney allies for his lackluster fourth-place finish in Iowa and vowed Wednesday to fight back with newspaper and television ads. Gingrich intends to portray Romney -- a former governor of left-leaning Massachusetts -- as a "Massachusetts moderate" who cannot fire up conservatives in the face of Obama's well-funded reelection campaign. If Gingrich bloodies Romney, Santorum could benefit without having to use his own meager financial resources on attack ads or risk alienating voters by going negative. But Santorum would also need other conservative candidates to bow out, potentially handing their financial backers and volunteers over to him. If Santorum were to be the last hardline conservative standing, he could potentially counter Romney's far better funded national organization and perhaps compete on "Super Tuesday," March 6, when 10 states are up for grabs. But neither Gingrich nor Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a small-government champion who took a strong third in Iowa, has an incentive to drop out. Paul -- who also opposes foreign aid and overseas military interventions -- has polled in second place in New Hampshire. Both Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry -- who decided to stay in the race despite a disappointing fifth-place finish in Iowa -- have reason to contest South Carolina and Florida, conservative southern states holding contests in late January where Santorum remains weak. But Santorum "has little time between New Hampshire and South Carolina," said Andy Smith of the University of New Hampshire. "He needs to raise a whole bunch of money." "Santorum is like an army living off the land. He has to raise resources as he goes along to build and organize and put up ads... That is very difficult." More immediately, Santorum will have trouble translating his early success into a strong showing in New Hampshire, where his focus on Christian social issues like abortion and gay marriage will be less popular than in Iowa. "Santorum needs more organization than he has in New Hampshire to turn out voters," said Linda Fowler, a politics expert at Dartmouth College. "He'll get more attention here after Iowa. But he isn't going to get anywhere close to how well he did in Iowa." David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, predicts Santorum will have difficulty getting much more than a bump in support in New Hampshire. Only 16 percent of voters here are undecided. Romney leads in New Hampshire, with 43 percent, followed by Paul at 14, Gingrich at nine and former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman at seven, according to a poll released Wednesday by Suffolk University/News 7. Santorum is only supported by six percent of likely primary voters and his name will be at the bottom of a long primary ballot. "If Santorum grows, he is not going to grow out of undecided votes," Paleologos said. "He would have to steal Gingrich, Romney and Paul votes. That wouldn't be easy... There isn't a lot to play with."