Donald Trump is expected to be largely absent from the trail today. | AP Photo The inescapable Donald Trump The real estate mogul was absent from the trail, but he still made himself the center of attention.

NEW LONDON, N.H. — Wednesday was supposed to be a Trump-less day here. The New York magnate went wheels-up to Little Rock, Ark., giving his rivals hope that this was their shot at the spotlight in a state where Trump has been dominant.

Oh how wrong they were, as Trump proved once again that wherever he is physically, he can always find his way to the center of attention.


He accused Ted Cruz on Twitter of stealing his Iowa caucus victory on Monday, using an audacious charge to keep the camera on him just just hours after pledging a more statesmanlike demeanor.

The episode was a pointed moment of an altogether chaotic day in New Hampshire. Sen. Rand Paul dropped out of the Republican race, and Jeb Bush continued his bid to take down fellow Floridian Marco Rubio. Chris Christie made a play for his own share of the spotlight, talking tough about what he would do in a general election against Hillary Clinton.

"I will beat her rear end on that stage, and, you know what, after I do she'll be relieved that I didn't serve her with a subpoena," Christie said at a campaign event.

On the Democratic side, New Hampshire frontrunner Bernie Sanders decided to cancel a pair of events. That Trump and Sanders, both New Hampshire frontrunners, were largely absent from the trail today is an unusual development at a time when rivals are looking for any opening to shrink their imposing leads, if not surpass them altogether. A University of Massachusetts-Lowell Tracking poll out this morning underscored the challenge, giving Trump and Sanders better than 20-point edges on their next closest rivals.

On a day in which his only event was a rally in Little Rock, Trump called for a new vote in Iowa -- or at least the disqualification of Cruz's field-leading total -- in response to revelations that Cruz allies had spread a false rumor about Ben Carson dropping out of the race to dupe his backers into supporting Cruz. It was a stark contrast to his posture earlier in the morning, when he said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he lost the caucuses because he was a "rookie" and was just learning the process.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it," Trump tweeted. "That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!"

The inevitable frenzy that followed showcased Trump's continuing ability to wrench the spotlight his way even at one of the lowest moments in his campaign.

On the Democratic side, Sanders had previously scheduled two afternoon events — a press conference on trade and a get-out-the-vote rally, both in Rochester. But the campaign updated its schedule after midnight to list only the 9 p.m. town hall, hosted by CNN and the New Hampshire Democratic Party. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. Clinton will spend the day at three get-out-the-vote events around the state.

But the energy is mostly on the Republican side, where a dizzying array of subplots that will define the fight here until Tuesday, when Granite Staters vote in the nation's first presidential primary of the year. Paul's exit is likely to set off a scramble for his libertarian base of support, which Cruz has courted aggressively since the early part of the race. Paul had failed to gain much traction,and he's facing a competitive Senate reelection race. Kentucky Republicans had pressured him to leave the contest and focus on his statewide campaign instead.

"It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty" Paul said in a statement. "Although, today I will suspend my campaign for President, the fight is far from over. I will continue to carry the torch for Liberty in the United States Senate and I look forward to earning the privilege to represent the people of Kentucky for another term."

Rubio appeared to be the first to court Paul's supporters after his exit. "The liberty movement needs to be a part of the conservative Republican coalition, so we would welcome them in as part of unifying this party, absolutely" he said after an early morning rally in Bow, N.H.

Rubio continued rolling out new endorsements throughout the morning to continue to present himself as the only viable alternative to Trump or Cruz in the GOP primary. While Trump was preparing to head to Little Rock, Rubio rolled out a slate of endorsements in Arkansas, including the state’s lieutenant governor Tim Griffin and Congressmen Steve Womack and Rick Crawford.

But Rubio awoke in the morning to a right hook from the campaign of fellow Floridian Jeb Bush: a full-page Union Leader ad featuring a letter from prominent Florida lawmakers dismissing Rubio's candidacy. "Take it from the people who know Marco and Jeb best: Governor Bush is the leader we need to make America safer, stronger and freer," eight former Florida House speakers wrote.





But Chris Christie go this own boost from the Union Leader, a front-page editorial that hailed him and took implicit digs at Rubio and Trump. "This newspaper has endorsed Gov. Chris Christie as the best, most-experienced choice for President," Publisher Joe McQuaid writes. "It’s also why we have ignored the clamor that Republicans and independents must not go for their best candidate but instead line up for the youngest, the cutest, or the richest."

The "cutest" tag appears to be a swipe at Rubio, while the "richest" rip is almost certainly aimed at Trump.

Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have crammed their schedules with town halls today.

For Bush, Christie and Kasich, the tactics will become increasingly urgent since New Hampshire is poised to be a last stand for all three if they can’t flip the trajectory of the race and surpass Rubio or Cruz. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard CEO who has plummeted in polls since a brief late-summer surge, is the only other candidate with a full slate of events in the state today.

Ben Carson, who left the trail after finishing fourth in Iowa — ostensibly to grab clean clothes from his Florida home — hasn’t provided a new schedule of events. His team has worked feverishly to combat the perception that he’s not running anymore, a rumor fueled, it turns out, by the Cruz campaign on the night of the Iowa caucuses. Carson has accused Cruz’s team of “dirty tricks,” and the senator apologized to him on Tuesday.

“He has been further energized by the ‘dirty tricks,’ political tactics evident in the Iowa precincts,” said spokesman Larry Ross. “As a result, he is further resolved to continue to work tirelessly toward reforming the system, restoring faith in the integrity of the electoral process … He is looking forward to continuing his campaign in New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond.”

Ross said Carson would arrive in New Hampshire on Thursday “after meetings in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina.”

Rick Santorum — Iowa’s 2012 winner who finished last among credible candidates there on Monday — is skipping New Hampshire altogether, and late Tuesday he postponed the launch of a planned tour of South Carolina without explanation.