Huntsman to skip Nevada debate in protest By Justin Sink - Tweet Jon Huntsman announced Friday that he will definitively be boycotting the Republican debate in Las Vegas next week in protest of Nevada's decision to move its caucus date to Jan. 14, throwing into doubt the traditional primary calendar led by Iowa and New Hampshire. 
 
 
 
 "If you are going to boycott something, boycott it," Hunstman said to WMUR. 
 
 
 
 His campaign said that instead, Huntsman will spend the evening campaigning in New Hampshire. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Huntsman has accused Romney of urging Nevada officials to take the earlier caucus date. Nevada, with its significant Mormon population, looks to be an easy win for the former Massachusetts governor, and a string of early victories could help Romney to cement the nomination. But the Romney camp has denied the allegations and said it hopes New Hampshire maintains its first-in-the-nation primary. 
 
 
 
 Michele Bachmann was reportedly also considering boycotting the debate, although her campaign later clarified that she would be in attendance. But she and Rick Santorum are considering joining Huntsman and Newt Gingrich, who have said they won't participate in the caucus itself unless New Hampshire and Iowa are accommodated. 
 
 Tweet View Comments "Next Tuesday, Gov. Huntsman will boycott the Nevada presidential debate, and instead hold a first-in-the-nation town hall meeting in New Hampshire, to discuss his bold plans to create jobs and reform America's foreign policy for the 21st century," said campaign manager Matt David in a statement. "While Mitt Romney's campaign has tried to game the system by encouraging Nevada to move to an earlier date, Gov. Huntsman is sticking up for the Granite State."Huntsman has accused Romney of urging Nevada officials to take the earlier caucus date. Nevada, with its significant Mormon population, looks to be an easy win for the former Massachusetts governor, and a string of early victories could help Romney to cement the nomination. But the Romney camp has denied the allegations and said it hopes New Hampshire maintains its first-in-the-nation primary.Michele Bachmann was reportedly also considering boycotting the debate, although her campaign later clarified that she would be in attendance. But she and Rick Santorum are considering joining Huntsman and Newt Gingrich, who have said they won't participate in the caucus itself unless New Hampshire and Iowa are accommodated. Source: 
 
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 Defense & Homeland Security | Energy & Environment | Healthcare | Finance & Economy | Technology | Foreign Policy | Labor | Transportation & Infrastructure ||||| Herman Cain will be back at stage center—literally, this time—when seven Republican candidates for president gather tonight in Las Vegas for the eighth debate of the season. 
 
 The live debate, broadcast on CNN, will give all the contestants a chance to push their issues while laying into their rivals. But the top protagonists – just like last week’s debate in New Hampshire — will undoubtedly be Mr. Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. 
 
 Mr. Cain, the former restaurant executive, is sure to come under intense scrutiny since his 9-9-9 tax plan propelled him to the front ranks of the nomination race. But Mr. Perry will also hope to use the forum to strengthen his own flagging campaign, which has suffered from a series of mediocre debate performances. 
 
 Mr. Romney, the steadiest of the candidates to date, will seek to solidify his standing in a state that he won by a large margin in 2008, when he went on to lose the nomination race to Arizona Sen. John McCain. 
 
 The other candidates looking to make their mark will be Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman decided to boycott the forum to protest Nevada’s decision to move its caucus into mid-January, a decision that has angered Republicans in New Hampshire, a state that is crucial to Mr. Huntsman’s fading election chances. 
 
 We’ll be live blogging the 90-minute debate starting at 8 p.m. EDT. Please join us then.
– Jon Huntsman is skipping next week's debate in Las Vegas to protest Nevada's decision to move up its caucuses to January, reports the Hill. Instead, Huntsman will host a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire. The Huntsman camp accuses Mitt Romney of encouraging the state to shift its caucus date to "game the system." Romney is expected to win in Nevada, and his rivals fear that if he racks up enough early victories, he will lock up the nomination. Huntsman's daughters weigh in on their Twitter feed: "Dad boycotting Tuesday's Vegas debate to hold townhall in NH. Enough w/@mittromney and his campaign's attempts to rig the political process."