Republican candidates stand by negative ads, fail to knock out Romney

(AP)

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. -- With the pressure on just three days before the first primary contest in the nation, the Republican presidential candidates had their arsenals ready for tonight's debate--but left front runner Mitt Romney largely untouched.

Romney is polling at around 40 percent in the state, several points in front of the closest runner-up. Tonight, his competitors failed to effectively take him on in a way that could chip away at his lead in the state. If Saturday night's performance is any indicator, he will head into next week's primaries still looking strong.

The candidates have ramped up attacks on each other, both in campaign stump speeches and in ads running in early primary states over the past few weeks. On Saturday, each candidate was asked to stand by their accusations and repeat them, face-to-face.

On the trail, former Pennsylvania Sen. Santorum has said that executive experience in the private sector  is not enough to qualify a candidate for the presidency. Elaborating on that accusation, Santorum found himself at the center of attention for the first time at this debate.

"Of course I was talking about Governor Romney," Santorum said. "Well, business experience doesn't necessarily match up with being the commander-in-chief of this country."

Romney defended himself, charging that his opponent was a lifetime politician who lacked the understanding of the economy.

"I think people who spend their life in Washington don't understand what happens out in the real economy," Romney said. "They think that people who start businesses are just managers. The commander-in-chief of this country isn't a CEO."

Perhaps the most aggressive offensive of the night came from Texas Rep. Ron Paul as he aimed at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who he recently accused of being a "chickenhawk" for not serving in the Vietnam War. Gingrich, whose step-father spent his career in the army, took personal offense to the comment.

You can watch video of the exchange below:

"Dr. Paul has a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false," Gingrich said. "The fact is, I never asked for deferment. I was married with a child. It was never a question. My father was, in fact, serving in Vietnam in the Mekong Delta at the time he's referring to. I think I have a pretty good idea of what it's like as a family to worry about your father getting killed. And I personally resent the kind of comments and aspersions he routinely makes without accurate information and then just slurs people with."

But Paul fired back, saying he too had children during the war, "and I went."

The debate, however, took a turn when ABC News moderators George Stephanopoulos and Diane Sawyer brought up social issues: gay marriage and federal control over contraception.

You can watch video of Romney discussing contraception below:

When the candidates were asked to defend their opposition to gay marriage, they deliberately charged that the topic had only been made an issue by what Gingrich called "bias" media.

You can watch video of Gingrich below:

The candidates are set to debate again Sunday morning at a forum hosted by NBC News. Don't be surprised to see them turn up the heat on Romney.

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Republican Candidates Ready to Rumble in Key New Hampshire Debate

CHICAGO - With the race for the Republican presidential nomination at its most critical moment to date, only days before the crucial New Hampshire primary, the six candidates will square off Saturday night in Manchester at an ABC News/Yahoo! News/WMUR debate that has the potential to be the most explosive one yet.

The debate, the only broadcast network debate in prime-time before the primary, will air from 9-11 p.m. ET from Saint Anselm College, where it will be moderated by ABC News' Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, as well as WMUR-TV anchor Josh McElveen.

For every candidate, there is a lot at stake.

Fresh off his narrow eight-vote victory in the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney is the favorite to win the nation's first primary on Tuesday. A resounding win in New Hampshire would leave Romney poised to run away with his party's nomination with the primary season only just begun. The former Massachusetts governor has held massive leads in New Hampshire polls throughout the past six months, and he also sits atop the polls in South Carolina, where the race heads next. Convincing wins in both states would make Romney almost unstoppable before the race has even hit Florida in late January.

That only increases the odds that Romney will face a slew of attacks from his rivals at the debate.

Rick Santorum, riding a wave of momentum after his virtual tie with Romney in Iowa, comes into the debate with much to prove. The former Pennsylvania senator was almost an afterthought for much of last year, buried in the polls, but he surged to the forefront in Iowa.

Now the question is whether or not Santorum can survive in the spotlight and avoid the same fates that have befallen the other candidates who have attempted to emerge as the chief alternative to Romney. Just ask Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich. All three enjoyed stints atop the polls only to then plunge back into the pack.

With a bare-bones campaign organization and a meager war chest, the little-known Santorum is out to prove that he has staying power. In Iowa, Santorum rode a wave of social conservative support, but those voters are in comparatively short supply in New Hampshire. Expect Santorum at the debate to try to draw clear contrasts with Romney, such as emphasizing his blue-collar roots.

Santorum this week has already struggled to duplicate his Iowa magic in New Hampshire. He gave long-winded answers at numerous campaign stops and on Thursday came in for a frosty reception from a college crowd. At an event with students in Concord, Santorum was even booed after denouncing same-sex marriage, which is legal in New Hampshire.

"[For] 230 years marriage has been between one man and woman. So if you want to change the law … you have to make the positive argument about why," he said, prompting several members of the audience to voice their disagreement with his stance.

If Santorum is eager to go toe to toe with Romney, then Gingrich is positively chomping at the bit. After Romney's political action committee blasted Gingrich, an attack that played a part in Gingrich's recent slump, the former House speaker is now prepared to take off the gloves and duke it out with Romney, a change of strategy after his initial promise to run a positive campaign. However, Gingrich must strike a delicate balance in Manchester if he is to succeed: go on the offensive against Romney without appearing angry and frustrated. In an interview Friday with George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America," Gingrich sought to cast himself as a Reagan conservative while dubbing Romney Moderate Mitt, a line that he repeated later in the day at a campaign stop in the Granite State.

"There's a point when you just have to say to somebody - get real. He's a Massachusetts moderate," Gingrich said in Newport, N.H.

Ron Paul, who came in third in Iowa, has proven that he can get under the skin of Gingrich and Santorum. The Texas congressman is not one to shy away from debate duels. At the last Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa, he went back and forth with Michele Bachmann in a heated exchange. Now Bachmann is out of the race, leaving Paul free to set his sights on other rivals. With consistent support in most New Hampshire polls, Paul may also feel emboldened to deliver an aggressive performance in Manchester.

While there is a lot on the line for Paul, Gingrich, Santorum and Romney, perhaps no candidates need a good debate more than Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman. The former left Iowa with his campaign in tatters after a disappointing fifth-place finish. Perry said he wanted to return to Austin, Texas, to take time to reassess his struggling campaign, leading many observers to expect him to drop out altogether. But a mere 12 hours later, Perry had settled on soldiering on in the GOP contest, with his sights set firmly on a good finish in South Carolina. Despite his focus on the Palmetto State, Perry desperately needs to put in a strong showing in Manchester to jumpstart his campaign.

Huntsman comes into the debate with the same goal but with a completely different focus: He has staked his entire campaign on New Hampshire. Huntsman's decision not to make a push for Iowa or South Carolina leaves him in dire need of a victory in New Hampshire, something that looks unlikely with his weak poll numbers, despite an endorsement by the Boston Globe. His tenuous position, combined with his tendency to take on Romney at every turn, makes a fiery performance from Huntsman in Manchester nearly a guarantee.

With so many candidates in such desperate positions, it is a safe bet to expect fireworks at the debate, especially involving Romney - the frontrunner is likely to bear the brunt of the attacks in Manchester. How successful the attacks are - and how well Romney responds to them - could go a long way toward determining the fate of the GOP race.

Matthew Jaffe is covering the 2012 campaign for ABC News and Univision.

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Republican Gingrich out of Virginia primary election

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has failed to meet the requirements to be in the presidential primary election in Virginia, where he resides, the state's Republican Party said.

Gingrich had been leading in a poll of Virginia voters and a spokesman for the former speaker of the House of Representatives defiantly pledged to run a write-in campaign for the March 6 vote. However, Virginia does not permit write-ins in primary elections, according to the state code.

The Virginia Republican Party also said Texas Governor Rick Perry's petitions also had failed to qualify him for the ballot. Only former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul qualified.

Three other members of the Republican field trying to unseat Democratic President Barack Obama - former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum - did not meet the Thursday deadline for submitting petitions.

Despite Gingrich's last-minute scramble to submit his petitions by the deadline, the state party said on its website on Saturday that a review process showed he did not have the required 10,000 verifiable signatures.

The Virginia state board of elections earlier had said Gingrich, among the top three Republican candidates nationally, had made the ballot with 11,050 signatures.

"Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot," Gingrich campaign director Michael Krull said. "Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates.

"We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice," Krull said.

But Virginia Code Section 24.2-644(C) rules out write-ins in its first sentence, saying: "At all elections except primary elections it shall be lawful for any voter to vote for any person other than the listed candidates for the office by writing or hand printing the person's name on the official ballot."

A December 22 Quinnipiac poll for Virginia had Gingrich ahead with 30 percent of the vote, compared with 25 percent for Romney and 9 percent for Paul. Virginia is one of 11 states holding a primary or caucus on March 6.

After Gingrich staged two campaign events in the state last week, his campaign had been confident that he had made the ballot even as his last-minute scramble raised concerns about Gingrich's abilities to run a national campaign.

(Reporting By Sam Youngman; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Trump drops Republican Party registration in NY

NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has changed his voter registration in New York state from Republican to unaffiliated.

A spokesman for Trump says the businessman and television host changed his affiliation to preserve his option to seek the presidency in 2012.

Special Counsel Michael Cohen said Friday that Trump could enter the race if Republicans fail to nominate a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama.

He said Trump probably would use his substantial wealth to even the playing field with Obama's re-election campaign.

Cohen said Trump's commitment to hosting TV's "The Apprentice" will keep him from doing anything until May, when the show's season wraps up.

He said Trump filed his voter registration paperwork Thursday.

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Is this what the Republican candidates need to see in Iowa? Share your pictures.

Submitted by Andrea K. Swank, Stanton, IA

We have asked Yahoo! readers to share their photographs of what the Republican candidates need to see before (or during) the Saturday debate in Des Moines.

Andrea K. Swank sent in this picture of a homecoming parade in Stanton, Iowa. She wrote:

Residents look on, wondering will this be the last school homecoming parade for their town and many other excellent small schools all across Iowa that are facing consolidation or shutting their doors forever due to drastic funding cuts and declining enrollment.

Stanton, a small agricultural town of approximately 700, is the top performing school in their county and is one of the best schools in the state. The graduation rate is 100 percent. Seventy-four percent of graduates score 20+ on the ACT. People live here so their children can get the best education possible. [Schools are being closed] because current funding is based solely on enrollment numbers.

With the overhaul of education in the national spotlight, schools like Stanton's should be studied as a model example of success and not worrying about closing its doors.

What do you think the candidates need to see?

We've set up an Election 2012 Flickr group to collect and share the photos. Please include the city and state where the photo was taken, and a short description of 250 words or less, explaining why the candidates need to know about it. You can also email your photos to showthecandidates@yahoo.com. We will not be able to publish photos without contact information and a description.

Leave your questions in the comments, or send us an email. We can't wait to see what you think our politicians need to witness!

The debate is sponsored by Yahoo!, ABC News, the Des Moines Register, local affiliate WOI-TV and the Republican Party of Iowa.

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