DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – The budding rivalry between surging Republican Newt Gingrich and former frontrunner Mitt Romney will take center stage on Saturday in the first of two presidential debates in Iowa over the next five days.

Gingrich, Romney and four other White House contenders will make their case to voters in a race polls show is still up for grabs less than a month before Iowa kicks off the state-by-state Republican nominating contest.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) – Republican Mitt Romney hit surging presidential rival Newt Gingrich on Friday over Medicare reform but left the toughest criticisms to surrogates who hinted at Gingrich’s troubled marital past.

One day before a debate in Iowa, which holds the first contest in the Republican nominating race in less than a month, Romney also contrasted his business experience and leadership with Gingrich’s “30 or 40 years in Washington.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) – Republican Mitt Romney hit surging presidential rival Newt Gingrich in Iowa on Friday for attacking a Republican plan to reform Medicare but left the harshest criticism to his campaign surrogates.

On a visit to Iowa, which holds the first contest in the Republican nominating race in less than a month, Romney reminded voters Gingrich had attacked U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan last spring as “right-wing social engineering.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Could Republican Ron Paul, the libertarian longshot with a loyal army of supporters, steal the first big prize of the 2012 presidential race in Iowa?

While the heavyweight fight between rivals Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney hogs the headlines, Paul has steadily climbed into contention in the state that kicks off the Republican nominating contests on January 3.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Herman Cain told aides on Tuesday he would reassess the viability of his struggling campaign after an Atlanta woman accused him of conducting a 13-year extramarital affair.

The allegations could be the end of the political line for Cain, who led the Republican White House race barely more than a month ago but has nosedived in polls after a series of sexual harassment charges and campaign missteps.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential contender Herman Cain told aides on Tuesday he would reassess the viability of his struggling campaign after an Atlanta woman accused him of conducting a 13-year extramarital affair.

The allegations could be the end of the political line for Cain, who led the Republican White House race barely more than a month ago but has nosedived in polls after a series of sexual harassment charges and campaign missteps.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican presidential hopefuls criticized U.S. policy toward Pakistan and called for placing sanctions on Iran’s central bank in a lively and substantive foreign policy debate on Tuesday.

Newt Gingrich, a former House of Representatives speaker, gave a composed performance in the first debate since he surged to the top of polls. He backed an overhaul in immigration policy that would include a guest-worker program similar to plans condemned by conservatives in the past.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls largely agreed in a debate on Tuesday on the need to strengthen domestic surveillance and anti-terrorism laws but several warned of the potential threat to civil liberties.

Newt Gingrich, the former House of Representatives speaker who has surged to the top of opinion polls in the Republican White House race, said authorities should use “every tool that you can possibly use” to fight terrorism.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican presidential hopefuls meet on Tuesday for their second foreign policy debate in 10 days, with Newt Gingrich looking to extend a campaign surge that has propelled him to a lead over Mitt Romney in polls for the 2012 race.

The debate will shine a spotlight on Republican differences over Iran, Pakistan, the use of waterboarding, and foreign aid in a race that so far has focused largely on economic issues and featured few policy clashes among the top contenders.

, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Herman Cain defended
his character in a debate of Republican presidential contenders
on Wednesday, saying Americans “deserve better” than the
controversy over sexual harassment allegations against him.

Cain, the former head of Godfather’s Pizza, has kept his
spot near the front of the Republican race despite accusations
by four women, which he has denied.