Republican Candidates Set to Debate Economy

By John McCormick and Lisa Lerer - Oct 12, 2011 6:11 AM GMT+0700

A Republican presidential debate that Mitt Romney hopes will solidify his frontrunner status will open with the echo of a voice not on stage in Hanover, New Hampshire: Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, who came to the state to endorse him today.

Christie’s announcement followed his decision last week not to enter the race, dashing the hopes of some Republican leaders and donors seeking an alternative to Romney and others running for the party’s nomination.

Romney and seven Republican rivals are competing tonight to persuade voters they are best-suited to challenge President Barack Obama on the economy.

The 90-minute debate, not including television breaks, will focus on the economy and is being held at Dartmouth College. It will be broadcast starting at 8 p.m. local time on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, WBIN-TV in New Hampshire and on Bloomberg.com and WashingtonPost.com.

The session is viewed as especially important for Texas Governor Rick Perry and businessman Herman Cain.

Cain’s newly energized candidacy is reshaping the primary race and creating a new challenge for Perry as he tries to regain ground he has lost to Romney.

Seventh Debate

The gathering marks the seventh formal debate for the Republican candidates since May 5. Their next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 18 in Las Vegas.

Romney, who has become a more frequent target for his rivals, enjoys something of a home-field advantage for the debate, given that he owns property in New Hampshire and his service as governor of neighboring Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. He also unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

The dynamics of this year’s contest have shifted over the last month as Perry fell from frontrunner status following stumbles at previous debates, including his comment at a Sept. 22 face-off that those who oppose an in-state tuition program for the children of undocumented immigrants that he favored as Texas’ governor don’t “have a heart.” He has since retreated from that phrasing, while standing by the program.

Poll Results

A pre-debate poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents by Bloomberg News and The Washington Post, the debate sponsors, found that Cain, a former chief executive officer of Godfather’s Pizza, has gained ground.

Romney was picked by 24 percent of Republicans as the person they want to win the nomination, followed by Cain at 16 percent and Perry at 13 percent.

Rounding out the field, 6 percent backed U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas, 4 percent were for Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, 3 percent supported former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, 1 percent picked former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and less than 1 percent backed Jon Huntsman Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to China and ex-Utah governor.

The poll surveyed 391 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents with a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points for that group.

Perry’s Challenge

“The mega-question is, will Rick Perry screw up again?” John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, said of the debate. “Everyone knows that Romney handles himself well in these debates. He’s smooth if you like him, slick if you don’t. People want to know whether Perry can reassure some of the people who were disappointed by his stumbles last time.”

Cain is also likely to face greater scrutiny, Pitney said, now that he has risen in national and state polls.

Cain lacks the campaign infrastructure that other top candidates have set up in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, even as he makes numerous television appearances promoting his 9-9-9 tax plan. The proposal would replace the current tax system with 9 percent corporate and individual taxes and a 9 percent sales tax.

Tonight’s debate will be the first time the candidates have debated sitting down. They will be seated at an oval table based on poll results, which means Romney and Cain are next to each other. They also will be allowed to ask questions of each other.

Praise for Romney

Christie, appearing today with Romney at a news conference in Lebanon, New Hampshire, praised the former Massachusetts governor as “an executive who has used executive power,” a reference to Romney’s business experience.

“This is not someone who just decided to run for president off the back of an envelope,” Christie said of Romney. “This is somebody who has thought and listened and planned for a good long period of time about what you would do if he was given the honor of being president of the United States.”

He also said Romney, the onetime chief executive of the investment firm Bain Capital LLC, has “laid out the most detailed economic plan of anybody in the race.”

Romney on Sept. 6 released a 59-point plan that included proposals to cut U.S. corporate taxes, reduce federal regulations and pursue sanctions against China for currency manipulation.

Perry is scheduled to give a speech on the economy and energy in Pittsburgh on Oct. 14.

‘Utmost Respect’

His campaign released a statement saying the Texas governor “has the utmost respect for Governor Christie and looks forward to his help unseating President Obama next year. Until then, Governor Perry will continue traveling the country talking about job creation and getting America working again.”

Christie told reporters in New Jersey that he was attracted by Romney’s pledge that on his first day to as president he would issue all U.S. states automatic waivers from implementing Obama’s health-care overhaul.

“We’ve seen what it’s like to have a legislator with no executive experience,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “Another four years with President Obama is not what our party or our country needs.”

Christie said he doesn’t anticipate being asked to join a Romney ticket as its vice presidential candidate. He didn’t say no when asked twice whether he would accept the position if offered.

The New Jersey governor said he’s ready to travel the U.S. in support of Romney, and has urged his backers and party leaders in New Jersey and other states to follow his lead.

“I have no question in my mind that Governor Romney is our party’s and our country’s best opportunity to defeat President Obama,” he said.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman who is chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, discounted the significance of Christie’s endorsement.

“We’re talking about a governor with a failed record on jobs endorsing a former governor with a failed record on jobs,” she told reporters before the debate. “I would probably look for someone with a little more track record for success.”

To contact the reporters on this story: John McCormick in Hanover, New Hampshire, at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net; Lisa Lerer in Hanover, New Hampshire, at llerer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net