Date for GOP New Hampshire debate up in the air, along with primary

{mosads}Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will moderate the debate from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, according to a statement released by the company on Monday.

The network says it will host the debate the Saturday before the primary, assuming New Hampshire chooses to hold a primary on a Tuesday in this cycle.

The date for the New Hampshire primary remains open as Secretary of State Bill Gardner decides how to react to recent moves by Florida, South Carolina, Nevada and Iowa to change their primary dates.

State law requires the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary to take place at least one week before a similar election, which is intended to ensure the state’s primary retains its importance in the nomination calendar.

Nevada has scheduled caucuses on Jan. 14, which is causing officials in New Hampshire a major headache. They could hold their primary on Tuesday, Jan. 10, but that would be less than a week ahead of the Nevada caucuses. Moving the state’s primary to Jan. 3, a week earlier, would coincide with the Iowa caucuses already scheduled for that date.

Gardner has publicly mulled moving the New Hampshire primary into December, while GOP candidates Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum said they will boycott the Nevada primary to protest the state’s move.

ABC is promoting its debate as the last chance for New Hampshire primary voters to see all of the candidates onstage before ballots are cast.

“The days between Iowa and New Hampshire have often been make-or-break for candidates, and we look forward to putting the crucial questions of the day to the contenders for the Republican nomination,” ABC news president Ben Sherwood said in a release. “We are confident that voters in New Hampshire, and across the country, will be able to make even better decisions after watching this debate.”

ABC hasn’t announced which candidates will participate in the debate, but said it will release the eligibility requirements later this week.