Few fireworks in last GOP debate before primary

MANCHESTER, N.H. – There were a few back-and-forth shots in the last Republican presidential debate before the New Hampshire primary, but the attack lines at this point are well past predictable.

The debate yielded few surprises Sunday night, though former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee found himself sharing a bullseye that had been reserved for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a debate the night before.

{mosads}Romney and Huckabee traded heat over taxes, but a number of other candidates, specifically former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.), also took several opportunities to hit Huckabee on the issues of national security and immigration.

For the most part though, the debate was a mundane affair as the battle lines in New Hampshire have long been drawn. But with only one day of campaigning left before voters head to the polls, surveys indicate that there is still a large degree of fluidity in the race, and the all-important independent vote can still swing the race for anyone.

That Huckabee was a target might come as a surprise to some as the New Hampshire contest has never been considered a state where Huckabee’s religious and social conservative views would help him.

Instead, the race here has been focused primarily on Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who has surged back from near political death this summer to lead narrowly in many polls here.

But there was little interaction between the two throughout the debate. Behind the scenes was a different story as the Romney campaign distributed several electronic press releases disputing some of McCain’s on-air assertions.

Saturday night’s debate was a different story as Romney took heat from the rest of the field, which seemed to focus all its fire on the former governor.

McCain and Romney remain locked in a tough battle for New Hampshire, which is considered to be a must-win for both candidates.

After a townhall in Salem, N.H. Sunday, McCain predicted victory.

“We’re going to win here,” McCain told reporters.

This was the first debate that excluded Rep. Ron Paul (Texas).