There will be six Republicans and four Democrats that will be taking part in those debates. The organizers of the debates had already excluded the weaker candidates. On the Democratic debate side, it will be the first face-to-face clash between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who are two of the three frontrunners.
However, recent polls show that Clinton’s lead in New Hampshire might shrink. Saturday’s poll by Reuters/C-Span/Zogby shows that Clinton has 32% while Obama has 28%.
On the Republican side, Mitt Romney was closing the cap on John McCain. In New Hampshire, John McCain has led the polls.
The Iowa caucuses were claimed by both Barack Obama for the Democrats and Mike Huckabee for the Republicans. Barack Obama is a first-term senator from Illinois who aims to be the first US black president.
While Iowa and New Hampshire may not necessary produce a winner, they both would boost chances ahead of the primaries taking place in the larger states.
ABC television will be in charge of organizing both debates. First will be the Republican debate followed by the Democratic debate.
In the Republican Debates, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee will be joined by Rudy Giuliani, Ron Paul, Fred Thompson, and John McCain.
Joe Biden and Chris Dodd pulled out from the Democratic races after a poor showing in the Iowa polls. Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel were excluded because they failed to finish in the top four.
Clinton and Obama will be joined by Edwards and Richardson.