N.H. voters weigh in on shifting GOP field

Don’t tell that to Bill O’Meara, a retired firefighter from North Conway, who is waiting for the presidential field to narrow.

“The field’s so widespread that people detract from the main focus: to get the current administration out of office,’’ O’Meara said.

That doesn’t stop O’Meara from listing among his favorite candidates former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose jumping into the race would, well, widen the field.

While several contenders officially announced their candidacies in the last month — among them, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, and former House speaker Newt Gingrich — the Republican field remains unsettled. People like Huntsman and Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann are still weighing runs. Republican activists like New Hampshire’s former Senate candidate Ovide Lamontagne and former governor John Sununu are waiting to endorse. Of nearly 30 New Hampshire voters interviewed over the last two weeks, the most common theme was this: They’re watching the shifting field and waiting to learn more.

“It’s somewhat comical the amount of characters involved,’’ said Jeff Homer, of Manchester, who works in information technology.

Most comical, Homer said, was real estate mogul Donald Trump’s brief flirtation with running. Now, Homer, 29, is “uberinterested’’ in Pawlenty — though he, as a supporter of collective bargaining, wants to know more about Pawlenty’s relationship with unions. He is also interested in the independent spirits of Representative Ron Paul of Texas and his son, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has said he is not running.

Jennifer Horn, a former Republican congressional nominee and founder of the limited-government advocacy group We the People, said there are enough strong candidates already.

“There is some danger for Republican activists to spend too much time pining away for people who are not simply going to become candidates,’’ Horn said.