REUTERS

MANCHESTER (NEW HAMPSHIRE) THE knives will come out at back-to-back debates this weekend as Republican presidential hopefuls frantically jockey for position days before New Hampshire’s key primary.

Debates are once again the main show in the 2012 race after candidates spent two weeks on the road campaigning in coffee shops and pizza places through Iowa and now, New Hampshire.

The six contenders will go at it twice within 12 hours, first on Saturday night and then again on Sunday morning. It is their last, best chance to sway large numbers of voters with New Hampshire set to vote on Tuesday.

“The debates are their opportunity to be seen by tens of thousands of voters,” said former state Republican Party chairman Fergus Cullen.

“They are critically important.” More than a dozen debates thus far have led to defining moments in the race to find a Republican challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama.

Rick Perry’s “Oops” moment when he could not list all three government agencies he wanted to eliminate contributed to his collapse in polls. Romney’s offer of a $10,000 bet with Perry made him look like an out-of-touch high flier.

This weekend’s debates may breathe new life into Newt Gingrich, who has fallen apart under the weight of negative ads and attacks in the weeks since he built a lead in the polls based on strong debate performances.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who often complained about not being asked enough questions at debates, will now literally be at centre stage and may have to face tough questions about his record in the US Senate and his anti-gay rights stance.

The rest of the pack could turn against Mitt Romney, the front runner by far, whose objective at the twin sessions is to simply hold his own and not make any mistakes. He urged his supporters not to get complacent.

Romney is sailing along with a big lead in New Hampshire after winning the Iowa caucuses on last Tuesday by a mere eight votes. “Let me tell you, those polls, they can just disappear overnight,” Romney said at a spaghetti dinner in Laconia on Friday night, urging supporters to “give me a bigger margin than 8 votes if you possibly can.” A big win New Hampshire and then a victory in the next vote in South Carolina would all but give him a stranglehold on the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney is likely to keep his focus on Obama, and try to offer a forward-looking message on how to create jobs.

“He and his team understand there will be a lot of attacks coming at him,” said a Romney backer, Republican strategist Phil Musser. “I expect he’ll be prepared for that.” Campaigning in New Hampshire has been reasonably muted as the campaign teams prepare their candidates for the TV showdowns, the first one on ABC and the other on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” The debate may represent a do-or-die chance for former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who has been trailing badly in the polls despite skipping Iowa to focus on New Hampshire.

Santorum has Romney in his sights after narrowly losing the Iowa caucuses.