Romney reassures NH supporters about calendar, resists calls to boycott Nevada

{mosads}Romney did not specifically address the intensifying calls to boycott Nevada during the call, according to The Boston Globe.

“I will take my lead from [New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner],” Romney said. “He does not have an easy job. I respect him.”

Gardner, the man who sets the date of the primary, said earlier this month that the primary could end up as early as Dec. 6 in order to retain the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation status.

“Romney will compete in every nominating contest across the country,
regardless of when they may be scheduled, so long as New Hampshire
retains its first-in-the-nation primary status,” Romney spokesman Ryan
Williams said in a news release.

The primary calendar has been forced to reshuffle this cycle, with Nevada the latest state to move up its contest. Florida scheduled its contest for Jan. 31, Nevada for Jan. 14 and Iowa for Jan. 3, potentially pushing New Hampshire’s into this year due to state laws. Gardner said it is Nevada’s date that is threatening New Hampshire’s status and asked the state to accept a revised date of Jan. 17 or later.

{mosads}New Hampshire Republican leaders this week have intensified pressure on Romney to join other candidates in suspending his campaign in Nevada, with state Senate President Peter Bragdon and House Speaker William O’Brien urging presidential candidates to boycott the Nevada caucuses unless officials move the date.

The New Hampshire Union Leader on Tuesday echoed accusations previously made by the state’s GOP leaders that the Romney campaign is trying to “bump the Nevada caucuses ahead of the South Carolina primary, and into conflict with New Hampshire’s primary” because it would be better for front-runner Romney, who already has the money and momentum to maintain his lead in multiple states.

The newspaper nicknamed Romney “Nevada Mitt” in an editorial that warned that the state is “watching” him, a vague threat to Romney’s comfortable status in the state. Romney polls well ahead in New Hampshire and is widely expected to take the state in the primaries.

GOP presidential hopefuls Herman Cain, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum have all said they will not participate in any primary contest within a week of the New Hampshire primary, effectively a threat to boycott.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) have so far resisted calls to boycott Nevada. Paul dismissed the controversy last week as “electoral jockeying,” while Perry campaign manager Rob Johnson told the Union Leader: “The movement of early primaries and caucuses has pitted states against each other and will only hurt the political process.”

Johnson maintained that Perry would “actively and vigorously campaign in every state.”