NH debate will define candidate standings

Politico reports

The quiet, simmering fight for the Republican presidential nomination is about to break out into the open, when seven White House hopefuls take the stage at St. Anselm College for the first New Hampshire debate of the 2012 cycle.

The face-off may or may not offer up a momentum-shifting moment in the campaign. But it will begin to set the terms of the longer primary fight between Mitt Romney and the gang of lesser-known opponents looking to derail him.

The stakes are slightly different for each of the debaters. For Romney, the event is an opportunity to cement his status as the GOP frontrunner. For Tim Pawlenty, this is the best chance yet to present himself as an establishment alternative to Romney, and maybe start throwing some harder punches at the former Massachusetts governor.

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker whose top advisers resigned last week, will be looking for political redemption. Other, less familiar faces – Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former pizza executive Herman Cain – will simply be looking to make a good impression with viewers who have never seen them before.