![Republican Candidates Debate In New Hampshire Days Before State's Primary Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio (r-FL) and Donald Trump participate in a Republican presidential debate on Feb. 6, 2016 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampshire-12.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Republican presidential candidates will face off in New Hampshire Saturday night in the most pivotal contest yet, just 72 hours before polls close in New Hampshire.
The current state of play is fluid, as the race in the Granite state is wide open, with about 40 percent of voters are undecided, with a further two dozen open to shifting their vote. The debate is the final opportunity for most candidates to make their closing pitch to voters, and get their final digs in before voting begins.
Reducing their workloads, Candidates and their aides have been furiously preparing for the event, moderated by ABC’s David Muir and Martha Raddatz, hoping to seize the moment — or at least avoid a an embarrassment.
Here are the key things to watch for:
Can Donald Trump regain his mojo?
The winner became the loser in Iowa. The national and Granite State poll leader skipped the last GOP debate before the Iowa caucuses—a move that contributed to his defeat. Back on stage, he must fight to maintain his lead in the state from the pair of surging senators. Trump, who cancelled an event Friday because of snow and faces doubts about his field operation, is betting that his celebrity and bombast can keep him in the good graces of New Hampshire voters. The question is can he deliver?
Who goes after Rubio—and how hard?
After a third-place finish in Iowa that beat Rubio’s carefully-managed expectations, the Florida Senator is struggling to contain talk that he could finish second, or even first in the state. Rubio has been facing a combined assault from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, not to mention Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The governors have been criticizing him for lacing accomplishments and relevant experience for the job, while Cruz is hitting him for being insufficiently conservative. It remains to be seen whether Trump will join the fight against the rival who has the potential to leapfrog him in the state.
Will the governors get sidelined?
There is only room for one—and none may get the chance. The three governors are in a fight for their political lives in New Hampshire, with only the top finisher earning a potential look in South Carolina as the race narrows. But all three could get left behind if they fail they slide to a muddled finish and Rubio soars. Christie, Bush and Kasich are burdened with the need to offer contrast between themselves and the senators and Trump, while also offering a positive message that can win over undecided supporters.
Who wins the Cruz-Carson argument?
The release of audio of aides to Ted Cruz campaign telling caucus leaders to falsely inform participants that Ben Carson was quitting the race has put the Iowa winner on the defensive. Carson, who has seen his support deteriorate in polls, now has the opportunity for retribution by attacking the efforts Cruz’s campaign orchestrated. Even a small pull on evangelical supporters could make the difference between victory and a middling finish for Cruz in New Hampshire, depriving him of potential momentum in South Carolina.
What happens to the missing candidate?
The GOP field’s only woman, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, is being kept off the stage for failing to meet the debate eligibility criteria set by ABC. Watch for how the other candidates seek to appeal to her supporters by criticizing the decision to leave her out of the debate.
Political Photographs of the Week
![Hillary Clinton campaigns at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H. on Feb. 3, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-01.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![TIMEPOL Ted Cruz Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio, appeared at a GOP caucus location with his family on Feb. 1, 2016, in Clive, Iowa.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Charlee Dotson, 3, plays with a Donald Trump action figure as she waits with her father, Matt Dotson, before the start of a campaign event with Trump, a Republican presidential hopeful, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cedar Rapids Convention Complex. Charlee Dotson, 3, plays with a Donald Trump action figure before a campaign event for Trump in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Feb. 1, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Bernie Sanders Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., watches caucus returns in his hotel room, on Feb. 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Iowa Caucuses Supporters react during a caucus night party for Democratic presidential candidate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Des Moines, Iowa on Feb. 1, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Supporter of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, wears a U.S. flag-themed bowtie at her caucus night rally in Des Moines David Evers, a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, attends her caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Feb. 1, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Potential voters look on as Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks at a campaign event in Burlington, Iowa. Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks at a campaign event in Burlington, Iowa, on Jan. 29, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-07.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Republican Presidential Candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Campaigns In New Hampshire Dominick Rubio, 7, joins his father Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on stage during a campaign town hall event at Mary A. Fisk Elementary School Cafeteria Feb. 4, 2016 in Salem, N.H.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The crowd waits to greet Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump during a campaign event at Gerald W. Kirn Middle School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Supporters wait to greet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Jan. 31, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-09.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Janet Huckabee, left, attends a campaign event for her husband, Gov. Mike Huckabee at the Crossroads shooting range in Johnston, Iowa on Jan. 30, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-10.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A crowd in an overflow room before Donald Trump, a Republican presidential hopeful, spoke at a campaign event at the Hampshire Hills Athletic Club in Milford, N.H. A crowd watches from an overflow room before Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Hampshire Hills Athletic Club in Milford, N.H., on Feb. 2, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-11.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Ted Cruz greets supporters at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 31, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-12.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![TIMEPOL Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Democratic presidential candidates former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appear at a Democratic debate at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016 in Durham, N.H.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/week-in-politics-photos-election-13.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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