One year away from the New Hampshire presidential primary, the Concord-based Rath Group has reaped nearly $105,000 from Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's political action committee, according to a review of state and federal campaign filings.

Several other possible Republican presidential candidates have also laid claim to local political consultants, spending tens of thousands of dollars on New Hampshire-based advisers. Arizona Sen. John McCain's committee paid $75,000 for the services of Mike Dennehy's consulting firm between June and November. Meridian Communications, which recently oversaw Jim Coburn's failed gubernatorial bid, pocketed $32,000 from New York Gov. George Pataki's committee between July and November.

Although possible Democratic candidates have funneled money to local candidates and helped pay for local staff members in the run-up to last month's election, no prominent potential candidate has paid a local consultant, according to the filings, which detail expenses through late November.

"On the Democratic side, I'm sure if and when Clinton and Obama get in, activists will start choosing sides," said Dante Scala, a political scientist at St. Anselm College.

Tom Rath's decision to advise Romney's political action committee - the Commonwealth PAC - has caused grumbling in Republican circles, said McCain supporter Steve Duprey, a former Republican Party chairman. At issue is whether Rath, a director of the Rath Group, should have resigned his seat on the Republican National Committee when he signed on to Romney's committee.

State regulations prohibit the three RNC members - who protect the state's first-in-the-nation primary and serve as New Hampshire's ambassadors to the committee - from working on presidential primary campaigns. As a result, Rath plans to step down from the committee next month. Because Romney has yet to announce his candidacy, Rath was free to advise Romney's political action committee.

Rath has "been in compliance with the bylaws," Duprey said. But "a number of members of the state committee were concerned that he was pushing the envelope of neutrality. The rumbling I was hearing was that as soon as he went on the Romney payroll, he should have stepped down."

In 2001, when Duprey was GOP chairman, state Republicans adopted the neutrality regulation, Duprey said. "My view was that the party leadership should be neutral and act as the hosts of the primary, and that served New Hampshire's interests best."

But Rath defended his tenure as RNC committeeman and his recent connection to Romney. Although the Commonwealth PAC retained the services of Rath's group, the contract was with Rath's colleague Judith Rhines, he said. The Rath Group received nearly $65,000 in September and $40,000 in October, according to campaign filings.

As for his role with the RNC, "I've been forthright. I have acted consistently with the rules of the party," Rath said. And his position with Romney's committee could advance the primary cause, Rath added. "One of the safeguards of the primary is to get people involved in a high level at presidential campaigns."

Rath has also profited from past presidential contests. He worked for Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander and former senator Howard Baker, among other candidates.

Although the primary is a year away, it isn't unusual for would-be candidates to be jockeying for New Hampshire staff, Rath said. "It feels early, but it's really not," he said.

What has changed, however, is the proliferation of New Hampshire political consultants, said Charlie Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy and a former executive director of the state Republican Party.

"In the past, consultant payments may just have been a way of reserving someone as a future staffer. But what was more typical was that a national campaign would have local staff," Arlinghaus said. "Traditionally, the perceived front-runners - your Romneys and McCains - will start to hire more people so that they feel like they can keep others out of the race by the sheer size of the investment required."

As for the six-figure consultant's fee, "if they need another one, have them call me," Arlinghaus added.

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