After weeks of the all-consuming debt debate in Washington, the political conversation is about to take a sharp turn back to the 2012 presidential election as Republicans gather in Iowa for the first real test of momentum and organization.

The Republican candidates for president have had a tough time attracting the camera in recent days as journalists, talk show hosts, bloggers and pundits have been focused on the stalemate on taxes and spending.

But that is starting to change.

Next week, most of the presidential candidates will descend on Iowa, where they will debate on Thursday in the first full-blown exchange involving all of the leading contenders. The next day, they will attend the Iowa State Fair, a rite of passage for presidential candidates. And on Saturday, most will compete in the straw poll in Ames, an early, if flawed, event that will shape the campaign.

There are bus tours planned. (Representative Ron Paul‘s bus is wrapped in the Constitution.) There will be rallies, town-hall-style meetings, meet-and-greets and house parties. And in between there will be hours of driving from place to place across the vast expanse of Iowa.

(Side note: The Caucus will be in Iowa for the entire week, bringing readers all of the campaign action, so bookmark the blog and return often.)

The fun starts this weekend for some of the candidates. But already, with the debt-ceiling debate behind them, they have begun to come out of their shells again.

Here’s a sampling:

* Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota began broadcasting a new campaign ad in Iowa on Wednesday, this one featuring her standing in — where else? — Ames. In the ad, Mrs. Bachmann notes that she voted no on the debt-ceiling agreement and would stand up to the politicians in Washington who are “looting” the Treasury.

* Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former governor of Utah, was in New Hampshire this week, but will be coming to Iowa for the debate. Mr. Huntsman stepped up his criticism of his rivals, accusing them of showing “very little leadership” during the debt fight and singling out Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, as remaining mum about it until the last minute. (Mr. Romney said on Monday that he opposed the deal reached by President Obama and the Republican Congressional leadership. Mr. Huntsman said he reluctantly supported it.)

* Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, is still not a candidate and will not be in Iowa next week. But she refuses to remain quiet. During an interview on Fox, she blasted Mr. Romney’s position on the debt issue, saying that he waited to see which way the political winds were blowing to say what he thought. “Bless his heart, I have respect for Mitt Romney, but I do not have respect for what he has done through this debt-increase debate,” she said. Lifting her finger into the air, she added: “He did this. He waited until it was a done deal.”

* Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, is also not an official candidate. But most observers believe he is preparing to jump into the race as soon as the straw poll is over. Mr. Perry is scheduled to hold a “prayer rally” in Houston on Saturday, an event that has drawn some criticism from the Anti-Defamation League and other groups. “Governor Perry has a constitutional duty to treat all Texans equally, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity,” the group said in a statement. “His official involvement with The Response, at minimum, violates the spirit of that duty.”

* Mr. Romney decided not to compete in the Ames straw poll, but he will be attending Thursday’s debate. As the front-runner in many polls so far, he continues to ignore his Republican rivals in favor of a laser-like focus on Mr. Obama. A new online ad highlighted the economic situation in Chicago even as Mr. Obama arrived there for his 50th birthday party and a fund-raiser on Wednesday night. Mr. Romney’s aides also started hinting this week that he would soon become more active on the campaign trail.

* Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, is the hardest-working of the bunch. His campaign has scheduled days of multiple stops across all parts of Iowa. It is no accident. Trailing in the polls, Mr. Pawlenty is hoping to do well in Ames to give his campaign a boost — though his aides continue to try to lower expectations by pointing to the strength of Mrs. Bachmann and Mr. Paul. Next week, Mr. Pawlenty reportedly will stop running television ads in the state and divert money to efforts to turn out his supporters for the straw poll.

* Mr. Paul is set to arrive in Iowa early next week with his son, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, and members of their extended family. Ron Paul, who voted against the debt-ceiling increase, this week called the supercommittee that is to consider more cuts in federal spending “monstrous.” That kind of message could play well in Iowa, where Mr. Paul could do well in the straw poll. His campaign has started a new, Ames-specific Web site and is ramping up its campaigning ahead of the event.