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Mitt Romney鈥檚 three-day bus tour across northern New Hampshire this week may be rural voters鈥� last chance to meet up close with the man who鈥檚 been campaigning here for years in the hopes of becoming president.

Dubbing it the 鈥淓arn It鈥� tour, the former Massachusetts governor is reassuring Granite Staters that he doesn鈥檛 take their votes for granted, even though he鈥檚 led in the polls for months.

With just over three weeks left before the Jan. 10 first-in-the-nation primary, Mr. Romney is projecting the confidence of a front-runner while at the same time redeeming himself from a reputation of having kept both the press and voters at arm鈥檚 length during much of the campaign.

鈥淎fter we鈥檝e had a series of flavor-of-the-month candidates pop up ... he鈥檚 trying to seal the deal in New Hampshire now that it looks like Newt Gingrich鈥檚 star is on the wane,鈥� says Chris Galdieri, a politics professor at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.

Romney has taken a few moments to respond to Mr. Gingrich鈥檚 suggestion that he's gone negative in Iowa, largely funded by Romney supporters. Perhaps Romney鈥檚 most quoted moment yesterday, during a stop in Keene: 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 stand the relatively modest heat in the kitchen right now, wait until Obama鈥檚 Hell鈥檚 Kitchen shows up.鈥�

This morning, he declined Gingrich鈥檚 challenge to meet in a one-on-one debate.

Mr. Romney launched the bus tour with a speech designed to show he鈥檚 the clear contender against President Obama. And at stop after stop, he鈥檚 emphasized his business experience and plans to shore up the economy.

A Newport, N.H., woman yelled out to him yesterday, asking if anyone has been able to get close enough to ask him anything. So he invited a question from her, the Lost Angeles Times reports.

Her question: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you鈥檙e conservative enough to hold the line against Democrats.... Can you reassure me you actually are?鈥� Romney cited his record of balanced budgets and avoiding tax increases while governor of Massachusetts, the Times reports.

Many Republican and independent voters in New Hampshire still may not be thrilled with Romney, 鈥渂ut they are starting to realize the other table doesn鈥檛 have a lot of merchandise on it,鈥� says Patrick Griffin, an unaligned political strategist and senior fellow at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College.

By giving more media interviews, letting voters know about his views on a host of policy issues, and sticking around campaign events long enough to shake their hands, 鈥渉e鈥檚 a new guy in this race,鈥� Mr. Griffin says. 鈥淚 call it the 'Contrition Tour'.鈥�

Other political experts see the tour not so much as a reinvention as an attempt for Romney to humanize himself. He wants to 鈥渕ake himself more exciting as a candidate ... but still [maintain the image] of the steady, dependable candidate ... the safe bet as the best chance to beat Obama,鈥� says听Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

Republican activists in early voting states, including New Hampshire, have gained a more favorable view of Romney in recent weeks, according to the latest Power Outsiders poll by the Huffington Post and Patch. Romney鈥檚 got 35 percent of their support compared with Gingrich鈥檚 23 percent; and 26 percent say their views of Romney have improved recently.

In national polls, Romney holds a lead averaging 13 percentage points over Gingrich, Real Clear Politics reports.

In New Hampshire, Romney has also picked up endorsements of late that 鈥渞einforce the idea that people are getting on board,鈥� says Fergus Cullen, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, who is still undecided. That includes some Republicans who had been reluctant to commit to him earlier in the campaign, such as prominent conservative Jennifer Horn.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like the accountant your mother is encouraging you to date,鈥� Mr. Cullen says. You may want someone more exciting, but you鈥檙e swayed by the argument that he鈥檇 be the good and stable choice.

The fight in Iowa by candidates like Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Michele Bachmann has helped blunt Gingrich鈥檚 momentum, analysts say. But if Romney finishes fourth there, 鈥渋t would increase the pressure on him to prove that Iowa was a fluke,鈥� says Galdieri. 鈥淗is big thing has always been [his] inevitability ... and once actual votes come in, if [the results] start challenging that perspective, it could be really damaging.鈥�

After Iowa, Romney will have one more week to come back to New Hampshire to try to prove that he can 鈥渆arn it鈥� here.

Associated Press material was used in this report.