As voters are casting their ballots Tuesday in New Hampshire, Democrat Barack Obama took the lead in all eight new polls released in the last 24 hours, while Republican John McCain finished top in seven of the eight polls. 

The polls point to a mirror image of the Republican contest of 2000 and the Democratic race four years ago, according to a Washington Post analysis.

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama campaigns at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Jan. 8, 2008, on the day of the New Hampshire Primary.

If the results match those forecasts, Barack Obama will have followed John Kerry's steps in 2004 in securing the Democratic nomination by backing up his victory in the Iowa caucuses with a decisive win, it said. 

Meanwhile, McCain "could once again defeat the early Republican favorite, as he did in 2000, setting up a further set of showdowns in other states," the newspaper said. 

An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Democratic voters, which was conducted on Jan. 6-7, shows Obama has an approval rate of 40 percent, followed by 31 percent for Hillary Clinton and 20 percent for John Edwards. 

Among 600 likely Republican voters, McCain has the backing of 31 percent of voters, followed by Mitt Romney with 24 percent, Mike Huckabee with 14 percent and Rudolph Giuliani with 13 percent. 

The CNN/WMUR poll has Obama at 39 percent, followed by Clinton at 30 percent and Edwards at 16 percent.

Republican presidential candidate US.Senator John McCain (C) waves to supporters as he and his wife Cindy make a morning visit to a poling station in Nashua, New Hampshire January 8, 2008.

Among Republican voters, McCain enjoys 31 percent of support, Romney 26 percent and Huckabee 13 percent. 

The Zogby International/C-Span tracking poll of 844 likely Democratic voters conducted on Jan. 4 and 6 has Obama at 30 percent followed by Clinton at 29 percent and Edwards at 19 percent. 

On the GOP side, the poll of 834 likely Republican voters shows little change in recent days: McCain leads with 34 percent, followed by Romney with 29 percent and Huckabee with 10 percent. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2008)