Huntsman downplays loss of N.H. supporters to Romney and Gingrich

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. -- Hours before facing off against Newt Gingrich in a Lincoln-Douglas style debate, Jon Huntsman on Monday downplayed his recent loss of some supporters in the first-in-the-nation state to Gingrich and Mitt Romney as "political gamesmanship."

Gingrich's New Hampshire director, Andrew Hemingway, confirmed to CBS News/National Journal that Richard Brothers, former Granite State commissioner of employment security and an early Huntsman backer, has shifted his support to the former speaker. Shortly afterward, news broke that Susie Wiles, Huntsman's former campaign manager who left during a shake-up in July, would endorse Romney and act as his Florida co-chair.

"That's all political gamesmanship," Huntsman told reporters of Brothers and Wiles after a town hall meeting at the Peterborough Rotary Club. On Monday morning, Huntsman's campaign sent out a news release naming its leadership team, which it said represented nearly 140 community leaders representing all 10 New Hampshire counties and 90 towns.

"We're picking up people all the time, you know, that's how politics goes sometimes," Huntsman continued, "and all I can say is look at our organization, look at our progress, and that should speak to the direction we're taking."

Recent polls have shown Huntsman in fourth place in New Hampshire, a state he considers crucial. On Monday, he also definitively ruled out running as a third-party or independent candidate should his GOP bid fail, a topic he's evaded during recent news conferences.