Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Newt Gingrich is on the ropes, Tim Pawlenty's dropped the gloves, and Mitt Romney will be in the middle. It doesn't matter that Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani and Jon Huntsman decided to stay home. The game is on. No more hedging statements, exploratory committees, or one more discussion with the family before deciding to jump into the water headfirst. The final boxes have been checked -- save for Michele Bachmann. For the six others, the race for the GOP presidential nomination begins Monday night at the CNN/WMUR/New Hampshire Union Leader debate. Voters will be looking for the candidates to deliver answers on the pressing issues facing the nation, and Republican viewers will be watching for a candidate to take on President Obama in 2012.
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Early polling shows Republicans aren't totally enamored with the field
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Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani, who haven't announced, poll high among GOP voters
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Front-runner Mitt Romney must weather expected attacks and counterpunch effectively
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Don't be surprised if Ron Paul says, "I told you so"
@placeholder, a successful businessman, is basing his campaign largely on his ability to fix the economy -- the No.