Mike DuHaime ran Giuliani's presidential campaign.

(CNN) - In one of his first moves to centralize control of McCain's political organization, Steve Schmidt has tapped Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager, Mike DuHaime, to be McCain's new political director, a top campaign adviser tells CNN.

Until last week, McCain had no political director at headquarters — highly unusual for a general election campaign. Mccain's campaign instead relied on 11 regional campaign managers — a structure many Republicans in and outside of the McCain campaign, including Schmidt, considered unworkable.

After formally taking control of the political operation last week, Schmidt decided to put a political director in place to oversee the state and regional operations.

Duhaime went to work as an adviser to McCain at headquarters not long after Giuliani dropped his primary bid.

HAGATNA, Guam (CNN) – They can’t vote for president in November, but today, their votes to help choose the Democratic nominee for president will make a difference. So residents in the tiny U.S. territory of Guam, with its population of nearly 175,000, continue to line up in a steady stream to cast ballots for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

Dededo resident Cathleen Moore-Linn stood in line for over an hour outside the old police precinct in Dededo, Guam’s most populated village. Despite the 90-degree tropical heat and no air conditioning at the polling site, she says, “Nobody left. A lot of manamko’ (elderly people) came out to vote. And people were filling out the forms to join the Democrat Party.”

At villages in the southern end of the island, which is far less populated, election committee member Nancy Weare says the voting is running smoothly. “There’s a constant flow of traffic, and good voter turnout.”

At stake are Guam’s four delegate votes at the national convention in Denver in August. Island voters today are electing eight delegates, who will each have a half vote at the convention. Two of Guam’s five superdelegates have already pledged one vote each to Clinton and Obama. The other three superdelegates, including congressional delegate Madeleine Bordallo, remain undeclared.

Vying for Guam’s delegate and superdelegate votes in their tight race for the nomination, the two remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls have inundated the island with radio and TV advertisements, each promising long-awaited political gains: the ability for Guamanians to be able to vote for president, lifting the territory’s cap on Medicaid, and perhaps the most coveted prize of all, war reparations in the form of over $120 million. A war reparations bill, sponsored by Bordallo, would issue payments to the survivors of Japan’s control of the island during World War II and would create educational and research programs about the occupation. The legislation is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate.

The polls closed on Guam at 8 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET). Hand tabulation of the ballots is expected to take approximately three hours. In the island’s 2006 gubernatorial election, 55,311 people were registered to vote. The Democratic candidate received nearly 19,000 votes, and although voter turnout today is steady, election officials say it is not expected to be unusually high.

(CNN) — Early vote returns from Saturday's Guam Democratic caucuses show Barack Obama with a small but early lead over presidential rival Hillary Clinton, although the bulk of the votes in the U.S. territory have yet to be counted.

With 2 out of 21 villages reporting, Obama won 188 votes to 105 for Clinton. Guam Democratic Party officials told CNN Saturday morning that the vote tabulation is ongoing but will take several more hours to complete.

Polls closed in Guam at 8 p.m. local time, or 6 a.m. eastern time. Four delegate votes are at stake in this event.

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) ­- With only hours left in the Iowa presidential campaign, New Hampshire is gearing up for its turn in the limelight, and getting ready for the imminent arrival of candidates, campaign staff and journalists.

The first to hit the ground in the Granite State is Sen. John McCain, who landed before voting in Iowa even began. McCain, who has seen a recent surge in state polls, has already spent most of the week stumping here – he’ll watch the caucus returns from aboard his Straight Talk Express campaign bus.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will kick off this new phase of his New Hampshire campaign with a 2 a.m. rally at the Portsmouth airport.

After spending Thursday morning campaigning in New Hampshire, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves for Florida, but returns Friday afternoon for a town hall in Salem. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will start off with an afternoon campaign in Henniker. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson's Friday schedule is still being hashed out, but he will be back in the state Saturday for the ABC/WMUR presidential debates. Rep. Ron Paul's schedule is still in the works.

On the Democratic side, all the candidates are storming the Granite State in time for breakfast. Sen. Hillary Clinton returns with former President Bill Clinton for an early morning event Friday in Nashua. Sen. Barack Obama begins his Friday in Portsmouth with a morning rally, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson makes a breakfast stop at the Merrimack in Manchester. Sen. Chris Dodd hits the ground early Friday morning, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich has been in the Granite State since December 31. But Sen. John Edwards takes the early-bird prize on the Democratic side Friday, with a 6:15 a.m. campaign stop in Manchester.

They’ll find a race that promises to be nearly as tight as Iowa’s. A Franklin Pierce/University/WBZ poll released yesterday found Clinton and Obama neck-and-neck at 32 and 28 percent, with Edwards in third place with 19 percent. The same poll found Republican John McCain leading Mitt Romney 37 to 31 percent, with Giuliani at 10 percent. The poll was conducted December 27-31 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

The GOP race is even closer in a Suffolk/WHDH poll released today, which finds McCain leading Romney 29 to 25 percent. Huckabee has 12 percent in the survey, and Giuliani has 9 percent. But the same poll finds a far different picture on the Democratic side, with Clinton at 39 percent to Obama’s 23 percent and Edwards’ 17 percent. That poll was conducted January 1-2, and has a margin of error for each party subsample of plus or minus 4.38 percent.

–CNN’s Sareena Dalla and Rebecca Sinderbrand

Strickland campaigned with Clinton in Iowa over the weekend.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (CNN) – Just days before the Iowa caucuses, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter criticized the state’s privileged role in the presidential nominating process, forcing her campaign to declare that she did not agree with the assessment.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was quoted in Sunday’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch as saying that it “makes no sense” to grant Iowa the right to hold the first contest of the 2008 race for the White House.

"I'd like to see both parties say, 'We're going to bring this to an end,'" Strickland told the newspaper.

Competing campaigns seized on the article and emailed it around to reporters to highlight Strickland’s comments late Sunday night. The Clinton campaign moved quickly, and issued a statement shortly after midnight distancing the New York senator from the governor’s remarks.

“Senator Clinton has worked her heart out campaigning in Iowa because she knows it plays a unique and special role in the nominating process and that process must be protected,” read the statement. “As she has said many times she is glad Iowans are entrusted with this responsibility because they take it so seriously. On this issue Hillary and Gov. Strickland strongly disagree.”

Strickland’s comments came on the same day that WHO TV reporter Dave Price reported that Clinton’s Midwest co-chair Jerry Crawford told him that she would “not be here caucus night.”

Full story

– CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch and Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley

Watch Bill Schneider from Des Moines, Iowa.

Watch Schneider discuss how the death of Pakistan's former prime minister again places the spotlight on the war on terrorism and experience in a tight 2008 presidential primary race.

Watch Bush engage in some political punditry.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Bush may not be weighing in on the current presidential contest, but Thursday he offered a rare glimpse into how he’d like to vet his successor.

In this clip from the President’s Thursday press conference, Bush explains the two questions he would ask the candidates vying for the White House.

First, Bush would inquire about “the principles by which people make decisions”: “You can’t be the president unless you have a firm set of principles to guide you as you sort through all of the problems the world faces,” the president explained. He said he would be “very hesitant to support someone who relies on opinion polls and focus groups to define a way forward.”

Second, the President said he would investigate how a candidate intends to get the “unvarnished opinion” of his circle of advisers if elected.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona

JAMES ISLAND, South Carolina (CNN) – Sen. John McCain made abundantly clear Friday that his fate in South Carolina rests firmly on the coastal areas that voted in his favor when he ran for president in 2000.

Although he has campaigned furiously along the coast, populated by thousands of McCain-friendly veterans and military personnel, it’s the first time he's acknowledged the region is a must-win for him.

"We've got to carry the coast heavily," he said to an audience at an American Legion hall here. "We've got to win on the coast, and I think we can. We've got to win all over, but its very important we win here."

McCain defeated then-Texas Gov. George Bush in several coastal counties in the 2000 primary, while Bush dominated McCain in Upstate counties with larger populations of GOP primary voters and churchgoing conservatives.

But unlike that primary nearly eight years ago, the current GOP contest is not just a two-man race, which could dilute McCain's support where he needs it most.

South Carolina's demographics have also changed: out-of-state retirees, including many New Yorkers, have poured into communities in and around cities like Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, when he campaigns here, targets coastal communities in particular.

Still, McCain was in friendly territory on Friday as he made an old-fashioned political appeal to the crowd of veterans gathered around a bar.

"I'm asking for your support," he said. "I'm asking for your vote and I'm asking you to make a few phone calls. I'm asking you to put up a sign in your yard."

– CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby

WASHINGTON (CNN)–Look for more red-hot scrutiny of Republican Mike Huckabee this week, the underdog turned top dog in Iowa.

A Newsweek poll shows Huckabee now has a whopping 22 point lead over Mitt Romney in Iowa — other polls don't show as big a Huckabee lead, but with a little over three weeks to go until the lead-off contest, the former governor of Arkansas is now the one to beat.

Expect Huckabee to be a target when the GOP candidates square off in the Des Moines Register debate on Wednesday.

Romney, in particular, will be trying to regain his footing in Iowa, where he once enjoyed a comfortable lead.

Thursday, it's the Democrats' turn to debate in Des Moines — with the three-way slugfest between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards taking center stage.

Clinton and Obama refocus on the Hawkeye state after dueling weekend events in South Carolina featuring superstar surrogates: Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey.

But no one is bigger than Republican Ron Paul's new campaign vehicle: A blimp — floating up the Eastern seaboard this week — headed right for the first in the nation primary state of New Hampshire.

-CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer

DES MOINES, Iowa–After 20 years covering politics, I’m a hard sell. I’ve seen every gimmick known to politicians: train trips, hang gliders, pyrotechnics and “intimate” conversations with voters in barber shops, front porches, diners and ice cream shops. Lord knows I have seen hundreds of endorsements.

But the Double “O” show, coming to an early primary state near you, was something else again. There was an “Iowa for Obama” sign on the wall, adorned with white Christmas tree lights. The obligatory banner hung in camera range just behind the podium. There were a couple of signs, but no fireworks, no hang gliders, just Oprah and Obama and thousands of their closest friends packed into a cavernous arena in downtown Des Moines.

Gayle (Oprah’s BFF) told one of the women seated next to her that Oprah was up until three in the morning writing her speech introducing Obama. She told people backstage she was nervous. I asked one of his advisers if the campaign had any input. “Nope,” he said “All the Big O.” If that’s true, Winfrey has a future. It was a great speech, and she is a gifted speaker.

The crowd was wild for Oprah. Thunderous applause. Camera flashes lit up the arena. Somebody yelled, “Oprah for Vice-President”. Obama turned around and smiled. That would be, he said “a demotion”. He spent so much time fawning over her she finally asked him to “move along.” He did which-minus the Ode to Oprah- was mostly his standard stump speech.

Afterwards, reporters were asking people in the crowd whether they came for Oprah or Obama. Face it, it’s caucus time in Iowa. They can see a politician any day of the week. This is the Oprah tour, and they understand that at Camp Obama. They welcome that at Camp Obama. She drew them in. He made his case.

Endorsements do not decide elections. I don’t think they matter much at all (I remind you of Al Gore’s endorsement of Howard Dean). But as I watched Oprah embrace Obama as thousands of people went crazy, I found myself wondering how many votes a hug is worth.

–CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley

Edwards has been a vocal critic of past free trade deals.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says he wants to replace the empty promise that NAFTA would create millions of jobs with his own promise to be a tough negotiator on trade deals.

On the 14th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Edwards planned to condemn the deal that lowered trade barriers between the United States and Canada and Mexico, arguing that it has paved the way for a series of deals that put the interests of multninational corporations ahead of working families.

"NAFTA was sold to the American people with promises that it would grow the economy and create millions of new jobs. But today, we know those promises were empty," he said in remarks prepared for delivery at a town hall forum in Derry. "In all three countries, it has hurt workers and families while helping corporate insiders."

The former North Carolina senator said more than 5 million American jobs have gone overseas since President Bush took office, and that up to 30 million more could follow in the next decade.

"The folks in Washington say that trade is good for the economy, even if it hurts a few 'losers,"' he said. "That's the word they use, losers, and it tells you something about how they see regular American workers and families who are struggling to compete."

The former North Carolina senator said the effects of NAFTA and other trade deals is evident in New Hampshire's north country, where several paper mills have closed in recent years. As
president, he said he would pursue trade deals that leave most families better off and that include strong labor and environmental standards.

Edwards also has said he would make enforcing trade laws a greater priority and eliminate tax incentives that encourage U.S. companies to move overseas.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham, was the surprise guest at a "Take Your Buddy to Caucus," event in Des Moines Friday night.

Sen. Clinton told the crowd of about 500 that she brought her mom as her buddy. She also noted that the last time her mother was in Iowa was 53 years ago.

Someone in the crowd yelled, "welcome back."

Mrs. Rodham sat down without making any comments.

The Senator encouraged the crowd to "buddy up" and bring an extra person to caucus.

Sen. Clinton also noted that the event site, East High School in Des Moines was where she started her presidential campaign.

The Clinton campaign announced that both Dorothy Rodham, and Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, would join the New York senator on the campaign trail in Iowa on Saturday.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

-CNN Producer Matt Hoye

Watch John King's report on John McCain's New Hampshire strategy.

(CNN)–John McCain is angling for a repeat of 2000, and another New Hampshire surprise. CNN's John King travels with McCain through the state, the Arizona senator hopes will turn him in to another 'Comeback Kid.'

Romney plans an address on his faith later this week.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will make a much anticipated speech on his Mormon faith this week.

Romney's campaign says that the address, entitled "Faith In America," will take place Thursday, December 6 at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station Texas at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden, in a statement, says, "This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected. Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation."

As for the decision-making process, Madden says that "Governor Romney personally made the decision to deliver this speech sometime last week."

A senior Romney Campaign official tells CNN the speech has been on the table for some time and that there were lots of pros and cons to giving such an address. The official says that Romney believed that the speech was important and that once he "became comfortable with the construct of the speech" he gave the go ahead.

Full story

– CNN's John King and Paul Steinhauser

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee

(AP)–A poll of likely Iowa caucus voters is showing a new leader on the Republican side.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is continuing his surge, and for the first time, has opened up a small lead over former frontrunner Mitt Romney. Romney had held the top spot in Iowa for months.

The poll by The Des Moines Register shows Huckabee in front 29 percent to 24, with Rudy Giuliani at 13 percent, followed by Fred Thompson at nine percent, John McCain and Ron Paul each with seven and Tom Tancredo polling six percent. Even with the poll's 4.4-percent margin of error, Huckabee still has the lead.

Things are also close for the Democrats. Barack Obama holds a slight edge over Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

The January 3rd Iowa caucuses mark the first official vote in the 2008 presidential race.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

STRATHAM, New Hampshire (CNN)–Rudy Giuliani told voters, Sunday, to focus on staying "competitive" domestically rather than worry about jobs outsourced abroad.

"The best thing to keep jobs here is to be competitive," the former New York mayor told a voter who had asked about software jobs being shipped to India and China.

Giuliani said the solution was to "Make it attractive for businesses to keep jobs here in the U.S," and cited lower taxes and less regulation as key incentives for businesses.

Giuliani also asked the crowd to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit.

"Here are two emerging economies, 20 to 30 million people a year coming out of poverty in each one of those countries," Giuliani said of India and China. "I see them as 20 to 30 million more customers. What can we sell them? What can we sell them that is cost effective for us and for them."

Energy independent technology, health care systems, and financial institutions topped the presidential hopeful's list of American products that would be in high demand in emerging markets.

Giuliani also drew lines between economic policy and foreign policy.

Said Giuliani: "When we trade with countries on a sensible basis, we become friends."

–New Hampshire Producer Sareena Dalla

Obama picked up the endorsment from Mayor Cownie in Des Moines, IA on Sunday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama gained the support of Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie on Sunday.

Appearing together at a press conference at the State Historical Society in Des Moines, Cownie praised Obama for his efforts to combat climate change and commitment to invest in renewable energies.

“Barack Obama will put an end to the bitter partisanship that’s stopped us from making progress on the urgent challenge of global warming. He’ll tell the American people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear," said Cownie.

"As President, he’ll restore America’s standing in the world and lead a global effort to meet this challenge once and for all,” added Cownie.

Obama, who has a plan to make America 50% more energy efficient by 2030, commended Cownie for his environmental achievements.

"Mayor Cownie has shown real leadership on environmental issues, and all Americans - not just the people of Des Moines - have benefited from it," said Obama.

Before elected mayor, Crownie was on the Des Moines City Council where he led Des Moines' long-term economic growth strategy, the “2020 Plan.”

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Assignment Desk Editor Marissa Muller

Mike Huckabee says he is "very pleased" with how his campaign is moving forward.

(CNN) – White house hopeful Mike Huckabee was optimistic about his progress in New Hampshire, even though he wasn’t the person winning the endorsement from the New Hampshire Union Leader.

“I fully understand the Union Leader's endorsement. John McCain is a good and honorable man, and I have come to admire and like him. I have no qualms with their endorsement. I wish it had been for me, obviously,” said Huckabee after a Sunday morning worship service at Grace Fellowship of Nashua in New Hampshire.

Huckabee spent the weekend campaigning in New Hampshire and was floored with the attention and turnout at his events.

“I came here a few months ago and there might be one print reporter who wrote a couple of things down in the notebook and wrote a page 6D story. This time I am here and there are more reporters than we used to have people coming to house parties, and the people are so pressed into a house that I am afraid the floor is going to collapse. It is a different day for us for sure,” said Huckabee.

Within the last month, Huckabee has seen a major surge. “We have raised more money in the month of November than we raised in the entire campaign up until then. So something is going on that is just simply amazing,” said Huckabee.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

–CNN Assignment Desk Editor Marissa Muller

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – HDNet's Black and Brown forum, a debate where the Democratic party presidential candidates were allowed to ask each other questions, was plagued by technical difficulties during the first half hour of the broadcast.

There was no audio during some answers, and at one point Senator Barack Obama had to hand his microphone to rival Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who quipped, "Barack, I want to thank you for passing the baton in this race."

After a few more gaffes, the network took an 8 or 9 minute break, and offered an apology after working out the problems.

– CNN Political Producer Matt Hoye

Clinton was unable to travel into Iowa on Saturday for a pair of events with her fellow Democratic rivals.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN)–An audience of progressive activists booed Senator Hillary Clinton today during an exchange on immigration reform. At the Heartland Community Values Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, Clinton was asked whether “giv(ing) undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship” would be a priority in her first hundred days as President. Clinton told the audience "comprehensive immigration reform will be a high priority for me.” That response elicited boos - and no applause.

Asked again whether she’d take up the issue in her first hundred days she said,“Well you’ve got to get the Congress to pass the legislation in order for the President to do as much as possible, which I will do.” That was met by still more loud boos.

Clinton was taking part in the Forum by telephone — she had been grounded in New Hampshire after her last minute trip there Friday night. The event’s moderator told CNN she believes Clinton was hurt by her distance, more than the substance of her answer. “She gave a boilerplate response, when the audience wanted a conversation, a dialogue,” says Cathy Hughes, the moderator and Chairperson of Radio One and TV One. “She didn’t have a feel for the room. One of the advantages of being here in person you can feel the emotional energy.” After one of speakers attending the Forum told an emotional personal story, a voice that sounded like Clinton's could be heard saying “Can you hear me?”

Comments by John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama - who were present -were received with loud applause.

-CNN Congressional Correspondent Jessica Yellin