BEDFORD, NH -- Herman Cain will host a "major rally" on Thursday in New Hampshire, where "hundreds" are expected to attend, the campaign told NBC News this morning.

It will be Cain's first trip back to the Granite State since he filed his paperwork for the New Hampshire primary on Oct. 12.

According to New Hampshire operations director Charlie Spano, country music artist Buddy Jewell will open for Cain at the Alpine Grove banquet facility in Hollis, NH. The Georgian businessman is scheduled to speak at noon.

Jewell first rose to prominence in 2003 when he won the USA Network's "Nashville Star" contest. He is from Arkansas.

Cain also will stop to meet with voters at the Airport Diner in Manchester that morning.

EXETER, NH -- In front of more than 200 people, GOP front-runner Mitt Romney yesterday unveiled his most detailed spending policy to date, promising to slash government spending by $500 billion in his first term -- by cutting federal spending like Amtrak, reducing foreign aid, and reorganizing federal government programs to the state level.

He will give a similar speech today at the Americans for Prosperity summit in DC.

Reading from handwritten notes on yellow legal paper, Romney pointed to the financial crisis in Greece to illustrate his reasoning for fostering what he called "a smaller, simpler, smarter approach" to government.

"If we keep spending like we're spending and borrowing like we're borrowing, at some point we could face what Greece faces," he told the standing-room only audience yesterday.
 
The former Massachusetts governor promised to send major programs back to the state level -- including Medicaid and food stamps -- and get rid of government subsidies of Amtrak. "I like Amtrak, but $1.6 billion a year borrowed from China to pay for it is not a good idea," Romney said.

Perhaps one of the most notable cuts Romney outlined was a decrease of government employment by 10%. Touting his often-cited private-sector experience, he vowed to tie federal government salaries to going rates in the private sector. "The principles of business -- conservative fiscal principles -- they work in government, they worked in the Olympics," Romney said.

In a new move, Romney also said he would attempt to eliminate union labor collaborations with government by repealing the Davis-Bacon act, which requires union labor and wages for government construction projects.

Romney argued that if his cuts are not adopted, other countries like Russia, China and Iran will "reshape the world in their image."

His proposed cuts came along with his usual arguments for repealing Obama's health care plan and decrease foreign aid substantially. "We give $10 million in foreign aid a year to China," Romney said. "[It] makes no sense at all..I'd stop sending foreign aid to countries that can take care of themselves."

For the first time, Romney also offered the option to choose between traditional and private Medicare options in a USA Today op-ed outlining his plan.
 
This position appears to be at least a partial embrace of Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal, as it would allow senior citizens the choice of a private or public plan. Romney and Ryan met in person last week, per NBC's Garrett Haake.

Embracing his front-runner status, Romney also encouraged his supporters to be prepared for backlash from detractors. He launched a pre-emptive strike against the Democratic Party regarding potential responses to his spending plan.

"There some who say, 'When you talk about fiscal responsibility and cutting a program, you're showing you're heartless,'" Romney said.

"We have to say, 'No no we have a moral responsibility to not spend more than we take in,'" he said of the Republican Party.

And, as expected, the Democrats -- and the Obama re-election campaign -- fired back. "The inevitable result of Romney’s arbitrary limits on federal spending would be deep cuts to education, infrastructure, innovation, and clean energy, devastating efforts to invest in the future of our country even as other nations around the world are racing to make these investments in economic competitiveness," the Obama campaign said in a memo to reporters.

"Romney has proposed additional tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Americans," the memo added. "These regressive tax cuts for corporations and unearned income would shift a greater share of the tax burden onto wages earned by the middle class. Romney has also supported Republican budget plans that protect tax subsidies for oil and gas companies."

CONCORD, N.H. -- After much political wrangling and calendar jockeying, the last piece of the presidential primary puzzle was finally put into place. The New Hampshire primary has been set for Jan. 10, one week after the Iowa caucuses, according to Secretary of State Bill Gardner.

"I was sort of on the edge of a cliff," Gardner said. "I was hoping if I had to move there would be a puddle of water to jump into."

The Jan. 10 date was widely expected. The way was cleared for New Hampshire to set its date after Nevada moved back to Feb. 4. Gardner had threatened to move the New Hampshire primary to as early as December of this year. Today, Gardner claimed his counterparts in Iowa and South Carolina were prepared to appear in New Hampshire to "stand in solidarity" with the Granite State, before Nevada pushed its date back.

"I want to point out, our friends in Iowa and South Carolina, particularly the state Republican chairs there," Gardner said, "they were very helpful at the critical time during the last month and ... demonstrating the solidarity of the early states. Both were willing to come here to demonstrate solidarity, if necessary."

According to state law, Gardner -- who has unilateral authority to set the date -- must schedule the primary at least seven days before any "similar event." But in 1996 and 2000, New Hampshire went just four days before Delaware. Many have argued Nevada was not a similar contest, because it is a caucus.

But shrugging off the controversy surrounding the date, Gardner said this wasn't even the most difficult decision he's had to make in setting the date, since he's been doing so since 1976.

"In my opinion, the most difficult was 1984," he said, adding, "We've been closer, if you consider the cliff being going the year before."

"I thought after the next cycle we wouldn't have to face this a again and I'm hopeful in the next cycle we won't have to face this again, but there is no simple answer."

Gardner also praised pressure brought on Nevada by the Republican National Committee.

"What they demonstrated, they were willing to do," he said, "help in that process. It was a good thing."

And, of course, he stressed the importance of the Granite State's primary.

"No one has finished below second and become president since we've started listing the candidates," Gardner said.

DURHAM, N.H. -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry will go on the air with his "I'm a doer not a talker" ad starting tomorrow in New Hampshire, according to the Perry campaign. The same ad began running in Iowa this week.

Senior Perry adviser Paul Young called this move a "significant statewide buy" that will put Perry on New Hamphire's WMUR new station and radio waves. The ad will also be aired on cable. The campaign would not elaborate on how much was spent.

Perry is currently polling in the single digits in New Hampshire.

MANCHESTER NH-- In what appears to be an attempt to solidify his support among Tea Party voters, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will deliver a "major spending policy speech" on Friday evening at the Americans for Prosperity's Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, according to his campaign. On Thursday, Romney will preview his spending policy in Exeter, NH, the campaign confirms.

Americans for Prosperity is a conservative organization originally funded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, and it has helped organize numerous Tea Party events.

Romney, who will serve as the keynote speaker at the summit's Tribute to Ronald Reagan dinner, will be greeted by approximately 3,000 voters on Friday evening, according to Americans for Prosperity's New Hampshire state director Corey Lewandowski. Past keynote speakers have included Senator Jim DeMint and George Will.

"This is an opportunity for Gov. Romney and others, if they chose to come, to meet people from all 50 states. These are the types that want smaller government and economic prosperity. It's a really good opportunity to talk to an audience that they wouldn't have an opportunity to speak to. We're happy to have Gov. Romney," Lewandowski told NBC News.

This is Romney's latest move to win over Tea Party voters, a group in which his support remains isn't as strong as others. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that he slightly underperformed among Tea Party voters, while Herman Cain overperformed.

Fellow GOP front-runner Herman Cain is slated to speak on Saturday morning at the same conference.  Americans for Prosperity's national headquarters told NBC News that a small number of presidential candidates were invited ,and they have not yet finalized who is able to attend. Other confirmed speakers include Rudy Giuliani and Carly Fiorina.

While Romney is speaking in Washington on Friday night, his rival Rick Perry will deliver remarks across the country at an Iowa state GOP fundraising banquet -- along with Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul.

"This will be a contrast, where Gov. Romney will be speaking to what I would believe much larger and much diverse audience than Gov. Perry will be speaking to in Iowa," Lewandowski said.

The general fee to attend the summit and Reagan tribute dinner is $169, according to the Americans for Prosperity website.

NBC's Garrett Haake contributed reporting to this story.

NASHUA, N.H. -- Ron Paul says don't blame the rich for income inequity.

"When you do you destroy jobs, you destroy the middle class, the transfer of wealth from the poor to the middle class to the very wealthy and we see that," Paul said at a speech before the Chamber of Commerce here. "The danger of this, though, is to blame those who are earning money and have a good living for all the problems. See, there's a big difference if you earn money because you produce a good product and you didn't receive any benefits from the government, you shouldn't be penalized."

The stock market rise and new GDP growth numbers yesterday may have been a positive uptick for the economy, but the changes did not impress Paul. He described the economic growth marginal and superficial.

"At the same time, real income went down 1.7 percent," Paul said. "We are getting consumers to spend money and dig deeper holes for themselves. But the real income is down. That is what the real problem is when you destroy currency."

Consistent with his usual stump speech, Paul criticized the Federal Reserve Bank for what he calls "artificially low" interest rates that have created a "bubble" in the economy.

"When the bubble is formed, everybody is happy," he told about 90 businesspeople over breakfast. "Looks like a perpetual wealth machine, but it's nothing more than a bubble. There's plenty of bubbles that we have depended on. First it was a NASDAQ bubble, then it was a housing bubble; right now I think we have a bond bubble."

CONCORD, N.H. -- Following a weekend of New Hampshire staff departures and controversy, Michele Bachmann made it official that she is running in the first-in-the nation primary. However, unlike most other candidates, she skipped the tradition of registering in person and instead filed by mail. Her paperwork and $1,000 check arrived this morning via express mail. Her filing is officially complete, Secretary of State Bill Gardner told NBC News this morning.

According to Gardner, 26 candidates have registered in total thus far for the primary -- 21 Republicans and five Democrats. The most Republicans ever to run in a Granite State primary was in 1992 with 25. With Texas Gov. Rick Perry filing Friday at noon and probably other lesser-known candidates yet to register, 2012 could be a record-breaking year for the GOP.

The only publicly declared candidate the Secretary of State's office has not yet heard from is former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who put out a media advisory saying he is campaigning in Arizona, Oct. 27-29. So, unless he files today in person or this week by mail, his name will not appear on the New Hampshire ballot. The deadline is Friday.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Newt Gingrich has hired an additional three full-time paid staffers to their New Hampshire campaign team in a continued effort to expand the former Speaker of the House's national campaign strategy, which comes in the midst of rising campaign contributions announced by Gingrich yesterday, sources tell NBC News.

The staffers joined Gingrich and recently hired New Hampshire State Director Andrew Hemingway yesterday when Gingrich filed for the New Hampshire primary. Their state headquarters will open next week in downtown Concord.

The campaign confirmed Alex Talcott will serve as the New Hampshire Coalitions Director. He recently worked on the Rep. Thaddeus McCotter campaign and is a public-relations principal at Vaura Consulting, LLC. He is a lawyer and teaches economics at Newbury College.

As reported yesterday, Matt LeDuc, who was the New Hampshire Director of Operations for Michele Bachmann, will serve as Gingrich's director of communications in the Granite State.

Pam Smith will be Gingrich's New Hampshire volunteer coordinator. Previously, she was a coordinator for NH 912 (a Tea Party-affiliated group) and worked on Congressman Frank Guinta's campaign.

Gingrich plans to open two more offices in New Hampshire in the near future and eventually expand into five across the state ahead of what is likely to be a January primary. The campaign says it will probably hire more staffers in the coming weeks. Major staff announcements are expected in Iowa soon as well.

CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner will likely end months of speculation surrounding the Republican primary season when he sets the first-in-the-nation primary date early next week.

Gardner originally signaled he would set the date today and went as far as preparing a press announcement, but ultimately decided wait until after the presidential primary filing period ends this Friday. The Secretary of State's office said Gardner wants to avoid any conflict with candidates coming into the office to file.

Gardner, who has served as secretary of state since 1976, set the 2008 primary date the day before Thanksgiving in 2007 for Jan. 8. He is widely expected to select Jan. 10 for the 2011 primary.

As of Monday night, 20 total candidates had registered to appear on the ballot and paid the 1000 dollar fee: 18 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Newt Gingrich files this afternoon; Michele Bachmann will file by mail; and Rick Perry will register noon Friday.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Mitt Romney picked up another major New Hampshire endorsement from former New Hampshire governor and George H.W. Bush White House chief of staff John Sununu, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams told NBC News late Saturday. Sununu has been appointed co-chairman of Romney's national committee with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and will chair Romney's steering committee.

“I am deeply appreciative of Governor Sununu’s friendship and support," Romney said in a statement to NBC News. "His advice and counsel will be important as I work to earn support from voters in the Granite State and work to fix our troubled economy.”

Sununu will announce his support for Romney on Monday morning when the former Massachusetts governor files for the New Hampshire presidential primary at the State House in Concord.

This is a sought-after state and national endorsement but does not come as a surprise. While Sununu has said several times over the past few months that he was not formally behind any candidate, he regularly appeared with Romney on the trail in the Granite State.

Sununu was White House chief of staff under George H.W. Bush (1989-91) after serving as governor of New Hampshire (1983-89). More recently, he was state party chairman (2009-11). Sununu is the latest Bush person to sign on with his campaign.

Two weeks ago, Romney received another significant New Hampshire endorsement from former Sen. Judd Gregg.

The news was first reported by the New Hampshire Union Leader.

CONCORD, NH -- Jon Huntsman cemented his one-state New Hampshire campaign strategy by registering for the Granite State primary at the State House this afternoon. The former Utah governor handed Secretary of State Bill Gardner a $1,000 check and autographed a commemorative election form that removed any remaining doubt that he is focused here.

"In the Hunt -- and only in NH!" Huntsman wrote in black marker.

Earlier today -- the first day of a two-week filing period -- Ron Paul registered first via a proxy, campaign staffer Chris Younce. Fred Karger also registered this morning, presenting Secretary of State Bill Gardner with an oversized check and campaign frisbee.

Vice President Joe Biden will file on behalf of President Obama on Thursday, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Huntsman expressed confidence about his campaign in New Hampshire, despite dismal campaign finance numbers that show him in nearly $900,000 in debt and low national poll numbers.

"I'm not at all worried at all. I was the co-chairman of a candidate by the name of John McCain who was flat broke -- in fact more than that, he was a couple million bucks in debt when he was sitting right here in New Hampshire," Huntsman told reporters. "And he turned it around in this state, because he had a message the people felt strongly about."

Huntsman, who is boycotting Tuesday's GOP debate in protest of Nevada's early caucus, will hold a town hall meeting at approximately the same time as the televised debate. He will also host a separate town hall event tomorrow afternoon.

Earlier last week, Huntsman was the first GOP candidate to publicly boycott the Nevada caucuses, accusing Mitt Romney of pushing for an earlier date.

"To upend the calendar at this point really does smack of politics to some degree," Huntsman said today.

"I would call on those who haven't already expressed a boycott toward Nevada to do so," he told reporters.

MANCHESTER, NH -- President Obama's former senior adviser and campaign strategist David Axelrod acknowledged this morning that the 2012 presidential election will be an uphill battle for the incumbent president facing a struggling economy and high unemployment.

"This is going to be a titanic struggle," Axelrod told about 200 people at a Politics & Eggs breakfast at New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College. "But I firmly believe we are on the right side of the struggle."

"In 2008, we had the wind at our backs," Axelrod admitted. "Now, we don't have the wind at our back. We have the wind in our faces, because the American people have the wind in their faces."

Axelrod blamed Republicans lawmakers in Washington for taking partisan lines and preventing Obama from accomplishing major initiatives.

"We honestly thought when we got to Washington, we'd get some cooperation from folks across the aisle," he said.

He then called the current field of GOP presidential candidates “the most ideological, partisan group of Republicans in my lifetime."

Axelrod specifically highlighted the Republican presidential debate last week, when a handful of audience members booed a gay soldier from Iraq after he posed a question about the repeal of the military’s "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

“Not one person on that platform, not one candidate was willing to say, ‘Don’t do that. It’s inappropriate to boo someone who’s risking his life for our country, who’s serving our country honorably.'"

As for Obama's chances against current Republican front-runners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, Axelrod forecasted a "contest between economic visions and values."