A growing clash between the Governor of Texas, Mr George Bush jnr, and Senator John McCain of Arizona took centre stage in an hour-long debate at the University of New Hampshire last night when six Republican presidential candidates held the first of a series of election year debates.
The Bush-McCain rivalry has grown increasingly tense in recent days, with the candidates exchanging barbs, especially over tax policy, as Mr Bush seeks to defeat Mr McCain in the state where the senator is strongest.
A Bush success in New Hampshire's primary on February 1st - the first in the campaign - would leave him with a clear road to wrapping up the Republican presidential nomination early, allowing him to concentrate on his Democratic opponents.
Mr McCain, who is vastly underfunded compared to Mr Bush and is organised in only a handful of states, must win in New Hampshire to keep his presidential hopes alive. The senator leads Mr Bush narrowly in New Hampshire polls but is far behind nationally.
Mr McCain is taking a risk by not campaigning in Iowa, which holds the first vote of the campaign on January 24th, when party members attend local caucus meetings to register their presidential choice.
Of the other four Republican candidates, only the publisher Mr Steve Forbes has the resources to compete by dipping even deeper into his own pockets, but so far his message has failed to catch hold. The other three - Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, a talk radio host, Mr Alan Keyes, and a conservative activist, Mr Gary Bauer - have little or no chance of making an impact.