Romney Rivals Hope For Good New Hampshire Showing

They're not counting on a win -- but Mitt Romney's five Republican opponents are hoping to finish well enough in today's New Hampshire primary to prove they're still in the race, so they can challenge him again in South Carolina and Florida.

They believe that a narrow-than-expected win for Romney will provide more evidence that Republicans still have doubts about him.

Jon Huntsman says if he can chug out of the New Hampshire primary "with a head of steam" he can prove he's the Republican candidate who can defeat Barack Obama. But on NBC's "Today" show, he wouldn't say whether he would leave the race if he doesn't finish in the top three.

The rivals yesterday pounced on Romney's comment that he likes to be able to "fire people." But today, they've pulled back -- noting that he was talking about letting people change health insurance providers.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)