Republican presidential hopefuls barnstorm New Hampshire

The most eyes will be on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who will look to make positive first impressions during their debut swings through New Hampshire. Both men are at the top of the GOP field in polling in New Hampshire.

The weekend kicked off early with the arrival Thursday of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was slated to attend nine events over two days, starting with the Politics and Eggs breakfast Thursday at St. Anselm’s College. At the same venue in 2011, Perry was in the early stages of recovering from back surgery, and posted an uneven performance.

Bush will have only two public events during his first swing through New Hampshire as a potential presidential candidate, including a tour earlier Friday of a laboratory equipment manufacturer in Hudson, N.H.

And Walker will meet privately with influential state Republicans, in addition to one public event with the New Hampshire GOP.

Sen. Ted Cruz will only headline one event, a dinner for the Grafton County GOP, but he has drawn outsized attention, and even scorn, from some. The Texas Republican’s firebrand reputation plays well in Iowa but likely will be less well-received in New Hampshire, a state that tends to favor moderate Republicans over conservatives.

“Ted Cruz is someone who will not darken our doorstep,” Fergus Cullen, a former state GOP chair who will host an event for Bush, said on a Boston radio program. “He doesn’t seem to be very interested in campaigning to all of Americans but only seems to be interested in appealing to a fringe.”

An NBC/Marist poll released last month showed Bush leading the Republican field in New Hampshire with 18 percent, followed by Walker with 15 percent. Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also polled strongly, with 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively.